Speaking to the media on City’s pre-season tour in Japan Pep Guardiola was asked about Joao Cancelo: “He is here. Joao has been so important for us in the past. After the loan at Bayern he is back here and is part of the group. Like I said to your colleagues, we will see what happens…” The question is does Cancelo have any realistic prospect of getting his career at the Etihad back on track? Was it just Pep being diplomatic or is the Spaniard prepared to forgive, if not forget?
Even if City want to sell the player, Guardiola is hardly likely to be overly critical in public. It would only serve to drive down any prospective transfer fee.
But what transfer fee? There’s hardly a queue of potential suitors, apart from the crooks of Catalonia, and only then would Barcelona want him on loan or a free transfer. With Pep seemingly preferring a defence comprising 3 or 4 centre backs - take your pick from Dias, Stones, Ake, Akanji, Laporte and seemingly, Gvardiol - you wonder how Cancelo would fit in.
When he made his shock loan move to Bayern Munich at the end of the January transfer window, the Portuguese defender insisted the switch was not down to his relationship with Guardiola, refusing to rule out a return to the club.
There are those within the club who would beg to differ.
Cancelo's inability to hide his displeasure at not being picked for matches did not sit well with Pep or indeed a number of senior first team players. It’s unusual, to say the least, that an experienced player goes out of the door in the last knockings of a transfer window, without even so much as a loan fee.
It would be futile to protest that nothing was awry, but that’s the public stance of both club and player.
Cancelo made all the right noises upon his arrival in Munich.
"My decision to leave City was only based on the lack of minutes. There was speculation that my relationship to Pep Guardiola was not the best, but the fact is that I just wanted to play more and now I have the opportunity and a dream came true.”
Cancelo was followed into Bayern by Thomas Tuchel who replaced Julian Nagelsmann as Head Coach. Tuchel had been Chelsea’s manager when they beat City 1-0 in the Champions League Final in Porto in 2021.
Bigging up his new manager Cancelo said: “Tuchel made me lose a Champions League Final, so I hope he will win it for me this year.
As we all know that didn’t turn out too well for the perennial Bundesliga champions.
City demolished them 3-0 at the Etihad, with a section of the crowd booing Cancelo when he entered the fray as a second half substitute, and continuing to boo his every touch of the ball. A 1-1 draw in the second leg at the Allianz Arena dispatched the Germans 4-1 on aggregate.
Cancelo was part of Bayern’s Bundesliga winning team, but he was by no means a regular fixture in the first team, hence there was no chance of Munich taking up a £61.5m option to buy the problematic Portugal international.
As far as his ‘dream’ coming true, the five-month loan in Bavaria was far from it, although neither was it a nightmare.
One wonders what he was thinking as City beat Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul to finally lift the Champions League trophy?
Nobody doubts Cancelo’s ability – the problem lies with his attitude. Always more adept in an attacking, rather than defending mode, could Cancelo conceivably be reintegrated into the squad as a wide midfielder?
Does the imminent departure of Mahrez offer a route into any meaningful game time? He could conceivably already have burnt his bridges in Pep’s eyes and the pre-season is just a chance to put him in the shop window? Only time will tell.
He put in a decent second half performance against Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan today - including a skilful assist for Erling Haaland - in front of a 61,000+ crowd, so never say never.
If – and it’s a very big ‘if’ – Pep and Cancelo can sort it out, there may yet be a third, and more harmonious option, other than the lyrics of a classic song by The Clash:
‘Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now? If I go, there will be trouble And if I stay it will be double So come on and let me know’
Failing that – and if rumours of Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s interest in Cancelo come to fruition – it could be a case of ‘London Calling’.
By David Walker
Twitter @ReadButNeverRed @djwskyblu