Arsenal have stepped up their interest in signing Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo in the summer transfer window, according to Football Insider.
The online news portal claims Bayern Munich will not activate the buy option they negotiated as part of the deal to bring him in on loan in January which was worth a reported £62m.
Cancelo joined Bayern Munich on a short-term loan deal in the winter transfer window from Man City after falling out with Pep Guardiola. Prior to his switch to Germany, he made 28 appearances for the Premier League champions, scored two goals, and registered one assist in all competitions.
The 28-year-old struggled for game time under Julian Nagelsmann but became a regular when Thomas Tuchel took over from the former RB Leipzig manager. He racked up 21 appearances and made seven goal contributions for the Bavarians as they clinched the Bundesliga title on the final day of the 2022/23 season.
Mikel Arteta is looking at defensive options to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season with the Portugal international among those on his wishlist this summer. The Gunners used centre-back Ben White as a make-shift full-back last term, but Arteta would love to bring in a specialised right-back.
Reinforcement
Arsenal have only two recognised right-backs in Cedric Soares and Takehiro Tomiyasu, however, the former joined Fulham on loan in January due to lack of playing time at the Emirates Stadium last season.
Soares is expected to return to the club following the end of his loan spell where he made only eight appearances for Marco Silva’s side in all competitions, but the defender is set to depart Arsenal on a permanent basis this summer.
Tomiyasu, on the other hand, joined Arsenal from Serie A outfit Bologna in 2021 and enjoyed an excellent debut season in England. However, injury issues hampered his progress last season and he failed to regain his first team place when fully fit.
According to Football Insider, Arsenal are keen to sign Cancelo this summer and have stepped-up their interest in the City player. The Portuguese also “ticks a lot of boxes” for Arteta as he can play at both right-back and left-back.
Cancelo is valued at £51m by Transfermarkt but Arsenal may have to pay more to get their man this summer.
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