Joao Cancelo leaving Manchester City to join Bayern Munich was surprising, but the worst news is that Pep Guardiola won’t be getting a replacement before the winter transfer window shuts. Jack Gaughan and Tom Collomosse of Mail Online say it’s ‘highly unlikely’ that City will sign a fullback in time, so they’ll have to make do with Nathan Ake, Aymeric Laporte and Sergio Gomez.
Guardiola can’t help Cancelo requesting a transfer and poisoning the dressing room, so he felt he had no choice but to sell him. The timing just isn’t ideal as City won’t be able to get a deal over the line within hours. They’re certainly better off without negative influences but will miss Cancelo’s creativity out wide, as he was comfortable coming into midfield which Pep likes.
Ake should keep his place for the remainder of the season, fitness permitting, while Laporte and Gomez will fight for minutes. Guardiola is sure to sign at least one left-back over the summer and probably wishes he had kept Oleksandr Zinchenko in hindsight as this has been a problem area for years.
Zinchenko, Cancelo and Benjamin Mendy will be leaving the club in consecutive transfer windows and Gomez is the only natural replacement in the first-team. Josh Wilson-Esbrand is on loan at Coventry City, so Pep won’t consider him an option to start as he’s still developing.
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