During the summer transfer window in 2023, Barcelona made 2 notable acquisitions in the form of loaning Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid and Joao Cancelo from Manchester City.
With both being regarded as remarkable talents who had found themselves under the wrong circumstances, both were able to display their talents in the Blaugrana jersey where Cancelo even solidfied himself as a starter in Xavi’s lineup.
However at the concluding part of the season, the fit of both these players in the team has been put into question as their glaring weaknesses have been exposed in high stakes matchups. Cancelo’s lack of defensive discipline, while Felix’s struggles in attack make them both disposable talents.
Barcelona only intends to retain Cancelo
According to SPORT, Barcelona contemplate retaining both their Portuguese talents only if their economic situation enables them to: “The club is not going to make any effort and will only continue if the operations are economically beneficial,” claims SPORT.
Moreover, it seems that the Catalans are going to prioritize keeping Cancelo at the club and are looking to offload Felix. Luis Miguel Sanz from SPORT claims that, “The situation of Joao Cancelo and Joao Félix is different. Despite his recent bad games, the full-back is a much higher priority than the forward.”
However, this operation won’t be easy to come about as they only intend to pay a portion of Cancelo’s wages for yet another loan spell at the club. “The Blaugrana club, which in the past was considering paying some amount for the transfer, is now only contemplating a loan with an effort on the player’s salary,” suggests SPORT.
Cancelo to feature only as a right back, if retained next season!
In the same article, it has also been suggested that Barca has been left dissatisfied by Cancelo’s showing at left back due to his defensive vulnerabilities, and will plan to use him only as a right back, contingent to the fact that the Portuguese is kept around for next season. “Barça’s idea is for Cancelo to play next season only as a right back . The experiment on the left has not gone well and the coaches consider that he should play more protected,” claims SPORT.
