Man City ace almost ruled out as a target for Barcelona, Deco seeking younger options

Over the past few days, it has become clear that Barcelona will go after the signing of a new right-back in the summer with Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo said to be the first priority target for the position.

The Catalan giants are considering a loan move for the Portuguese international as there is no way they can sign him on a permanent deal at this time with their current financial situation.

While things were said to be progressing on that front, a fresh report from SPORT has now claimed that it is not actually the case, and a move for Cancelo is almost ruled out by Barcelona this summer.

This is because the Catalan giants see it unfeasible to pay a sizeable loan fee for the 29-year-old while taking on his wages which are quite significant as well, especially considering that they would not be owning him permanently.

Barça had explored the possibility of loaning Cancelo in January as well, but were rejected by Manchester City. Now, even though they hold an interest in the Portuguese full-back, his wages are simply too high for the club while the kind of loan fee that the Cityzens would demand is also unclear.

As such, they have communicated to Cancelo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, that it will be difficult for them to sign the right-back this summer.

In fact, sporting director Deco is already looking at alternatives in the market. The former midfielder wants to sign a younger player, on a permanent deal, as a long-term solution for the right-back spot rather than going for a short-term fix like Cancelo.

As such, Deco is putting forth the name of Real Valladolid’s Ivan Fresneda, although the 18-year-old reportedly does not generate consensus at Barcelona.

Pablo Maffeo is another name that is being looked at and the RCD Mallorca ace could be an affordable alternative as Barça can sign him for only €10 million plus the inclusion of a player on loan.