Fresh Joao Cancelo transfer twist revealed following premature Saudi Arabia reports

A new transfer twist has now emerged concerning the future of Joao Cancelo at Manchester City, in light of recent reports concerning a move to Saudi Arabia.

The Portugal international is firmly within a crunch phase of his summer transfer window, having not managed to secure his ideal return back to FC Barcelona following a loan spell with the club last season.

The belief within various quarters is that not only is the 30-year-old wanting a return to the La Liga giants, but the club themselves are wanting the move too. Unfortunately for all involved, the precarious financial situation at the Catalan side is preventing any deal from progressing.

As such, that has opened up fresh opportunities and proposals for Cancelo and his young family to mull over, including the prospect of a return to Italy and the more drastic deal of moving to the Middle-East and the Saudi Pro League.

Reports on Thursday indicated that a deal had been agreed with both Manchester City and Cancelo himself, as Al Hilal emerged as the most serious contender for the player’s signature. However, a follow-up report has offered some clarity on the situation.

According to the information of the Manchester Evening News’ Tyrone Marshall, Premier League champions Manchester City are yet to receive a bid for Joao Cancelo, but Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal are indeed exploring the possibility of signing the full-back permanently.

Cancelo has been included in training by Pep Guardiola during the opening weeks of the competitive season, having returned at the same time as the rest of Manchester City’s Portuguese contingent following their post-European Championship breaks.

However, despite praise in a recent press conference, the defender has been excluded from both of Manchester City’s matchday squad lists in competitive fixtures during the last three weeks.

Rico Lewis has started both the FA Community Shield against Manchester United at Wembley, as well as the Premier League opening weekend meeting with Chelsea, while club captain Kyle Walker is also back with the squad following an extended summer break.