Manchester City will announce the signing of full-back João Cancelo from Juventus tomorrow. He arrives as part of a swap deal with Danilo making his way to Juventus. And, as Fabrizio Romano also reports, this deal involves an additional fee of €30 million.
João Cancelo to Manchester City, Danilo to Juventus: here we go! Man City are going to pay also €30M to Juventus and the swap is ready to be completed tomorrow, last details and the paperworks time. ? #MCFC #Cancelo #Danilo #transfers
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 4, 2019
Manchester City Swap Danilo for João Cancelo
João Cancelo: Career So Far
Cancelo began his career at Benfica’s B team, making a step up to the senior squad in 2014. After impressing in loan spell at Valencia he joined the Spanish side permanently where he stayed until 2017. After another loan at Inter Milan, he joined Italian rivals Juventus last summer for £35 million.
His journey across Europe’s top leagues continues with his arrival at City a year on from his arrival in Turin. He was a hot prospect in Italian football, after being named in 2017-18 Serie A team of the season. He made 34 appearances for Juventus last season, helping keep 15 clean sheets. His goal contribution was an added bonus too; 1 goal and 8 assists in those 34 games.
Cancelo also comes with international pedigree; he made his debut in the Portugal national side in 2016, making 16 appearances since. He managed to get himself into the preliminary 35-man squad for the World Cup last year but didn’t make the final cut. More recently, he appeared on the bench in Portugal’s Nations League win over Holland.
Danilo Leaves the Citizens
Danilo first arrived at the Ethiad in 2017. His price tag was about £26.5 million which saw him transfer from Real Madrid. Since then, he has made 34 Premier League appearances, scoring four goals. Despite his five-year-contract, he will be departing the club early after falling out of favour. The Brazilian failed to nail down a starting place in Guardiola’s side, behind Walker in the pecking order.
He may have not made the most profound impact at the club, but Danilo still leaves the club with an impressive trophy haul. Two Premier League titles and three cup wins are now part of his impressive collection.
Juventus sign Danilo who is not yet acquainted with Serie A. But, he has a wider footballing experience across Brazil, Portugal and Spain. In addition, he has important Champions League expertise with over 3000 minutes played over his career. This includes his performance in the 2016 final for Real Madrid, whilst he could only watch on as an unused substitute in the 2017 victory.
What This Means for Manchester City
Manchester City were inevitably going to need to replace Danilo, who was set to leave at some point this summer, and now they have an ideal resolution. Cancelo, primarily a right-back, could yet take Kyle Walker‘s place, after some recent shaky performances from the Englishman.
The Portuguese full-back can operate on both flanks, and even further up the wing too. It is a sign of intent from Pep Guardiola, showing everyone’s place is under threat in his side. At four years younger than Walker, Cancelo represents a solid investment for the future, as well as a good prospect ahead of the new campaign.
He becomes Pep Guardiola’s first signing of the summer ahead of his second successive Premier League title defence.
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