Barcelona submit €30 million offer for Xavi target

According to reports coming out of Spain this morning, Barcelona have made their first approach for Xavi’s preferred right-back Joao Cancelo.

The offer on the table is a one-year loan deal with a €30 million obligation to buy clause if Cancelo plays 70% of Barca’s matches, or if Barca reaches the last-16 of the Champions League.

Moving through European’s elite international tournament comes with financial gains, and if Barca were to reach the last-16, it would go a long way to covering the transfer fee next summer.

Cancelo has always been the #1 target for Barcelona manager Xavi, with the Portuguese defender offering the perfect combination of skills.

He has the experience of top European competition having played for Manchester City and Bayern Munich, Juventus and Inter Milan. He has attacking prowess with defensive reliability and is still on the right side of 30 at 29 years old.

Barcelona need to conclude their right-back search soon

Barca are working against the clock to complete any potential transfer for Cancelo. Not only does the transfer window close in a matter of weeks, but with the injury to Ronald Araujo who had been the makeshift right-back, there is greater urgency to find a longer-term solution.

However, new Sporting Director Deco has advised the agent of Joao Cancelo, Jorge Mendes, that Barcelona won’t wait forever, indicating that the player and agent need to put pressure on Manchester City to negotiate this deal to a conclusion.

It’s widely known that Deco would be happy to move for Valladolid right-back Ivan Fresneda if the Cancelo deal fails to generate any momentum and at this point, I think I’d be happy with that as well.

It’s believed that Manchester City are looking for an outright sale or one with a clear obligation to buy, although recent reports indicated the English champions were looking for a fee of around €50 million, which is a lot of money for a soon-to-be 30-year-old defender.