Barcelona set to have ‘difficult’ time signing João Cancelo from Manchester City

An update on the future of Barcelona star João Cancelo has come to the fore on Friday evening.

The info comes courtesy of Sport, who have cast doubt over the Blaugrana’s ability to thrash out a permanent deal for the Portuguese international.

Cancelo of course made the move to Camp Nou during the summer, as part of a season-long loan deal from Manchester City.

And the 29-year-old has since gone on to make the right-back spot in Xavi Hernández’s squad his own, notching two goals and an assist across 10 La Liga appearances to date.

Though recent weeks have proven more of a struggle, the widespread assumption, in turn, is that the transfer team in Catalunya will ultimately make an attempt to make Cancelo’s arrival a permanent one.

If the latest word stemming from the media on Friday is anything to go by, however, then such an operation could prove a difficult one to pull off.

This comes amid suggestions that Barca will struggle to meet the financial demands of their Man City counterparts.

As per Sport’s aforementioned report, the Premier League champions are expected to demand a sum in the region of €50 million for their out-of-favour full-back.

Barcelona would not be willing to reach such figures, with a major gap in valuation between the two clubs meaning a breakdown in negotiations could be imminent.

City could be open to lowering their demands in the case of a second successive loan stint, but any such agreement would require a loan fee, as well as a mandatory buyout clause of around €35 million.

Conor Laird | GSFN