Man City ‘in advanced talks over signing Nelson Semedo… with Joao Cancelo moving to Barcelona’
Barcelona and Manchester City are reportedly in advanced talks over a swap-plus-cash deal involving Nelson Semedo and Joao Cancelo.
Pep Guardiola is keen to bring Semedo to the Etihad and is willing to part with money and offer his former club Cancelo in order to reach a deal.
Cancelo only moved to City from Juventus for £60m last summer but has not cemented a spot in the first team, and as such City are willing to let him leave to facilitate Semedo’s arrival, with an agreement likely to be reached in the coming weeks, according to Spanish outlet SPORT.
Manchester City are keen on signing Barcelona right back Nelson Semedo this summer
City are reportedly willing to offer Joao Cancelo as a like-for-like replacement in a swap deal
The report details that Barca have given Semedo’s representative, super-agent Jorge Mendes, permission to negotiate his exit, with the club setting an asking price of £39m (€45m).
Talks over a new contract for Semedo have stalled recently, and with the Portuguese’s current deal expiring in 2022, Barca are keen to cash in on him before his value falls – but could be swayed with a satisfactory player-plus-cash exchange.
Semedo reportedly was keen to leave last summer in search of regular first-team football, but opted to stay.
He has made 29 appearances in all competitions this season as Barca lead Real Madrid by two points at the top of La Liga, before the coronavirus crisis halted football across Europe in the middle of March.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola is keen to sign Semedo from his former club Barcelona
For City, a deal which involves Cancelo moving in the other direction works perfectly, with Semedo a like-for-like replacement at right back.
The former Juve man has made just 11 Premier League appearances this season and has been unable to usurp Kyle Walker in defence.
Thus the two Portuguese right backs, who were born just six months apart, could swap clubs this summer should the two European heavyweights come to an agreement.
