Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo is leaving the club midseason to go on loan to Bayern Munich.
That's the shock revelation at the end of the transfer window for City fans, as Cancelo looks for more game-time and Pep Guardiola lets one of his key stars of last season's title win head to the Bundesliga.
Cancelo has been a bit-part player of late, with teenage sensation Rico Lewis preferred to the Portuguese – but the move is still a surprise one, as the Eastlands outfit chase a treble.
Joao Cancelo is heading on loan to Bayern Munich from Manchester City… but why?
Joao Cancelo's season started with him taking Raheem Sterling's vacant No.7 shirt and has been curtailed with a bizarre left-field move to the Bundesliga.
That's according to the Athletic, who say the dependable full-back "is likely to include a buy option". Cancelo was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year the last two years running for Manchester City.
With his manager Guardiola publicly agitated with his players recently, it could well be that he feels as if Cancelo has lost some of the "fire" that he complained of his side lacking in their 4-2 comeback against Tottenham. The 28-year-old had a disappointing World Cup, too, losing his place in Portugal's starting line-up during the knockout stage.
In recent times, however, Guardiola has favoured a left-footer on the left of his back four. Cancelo has slotted into that position regularly in the last two years, with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden featuring ahead of him to provide that natural width. With City attempting to land Marc Cucurella in the summer before he went to Chelsea, it seemed as if Guardiola was looking for ways to get Jack Grealish into the team.
Recently too, Nathan Ake has been tasked with being played out wide – and the Dutchman was named Man of the Match after an excellent performance against Arsenal on Friday night, in which he marshalled Bukayo Saka and scored the winner.
Cancelo, meanwhile, has been criticised this season for his poor defending. With no cup-tie rules around the Champions League, the loan move will ensure that City's No.7 could feature against them, should Bayern Munich draw Cancelo's parent club.
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