Barcelona, Man City reach agreement in principle over loan-to-buy deal for Joao Cancelo

It appears that Joao Cancelo is all set to join FC Barcelona from Manchester City in the coming days.

After it was reported that the 29-year-old was just a step away from signing for the La Liga champions, there seems to be a major development in the operation.

Indeed, Jordi Gil of SPORT is reporting that Barcelona and Manchester City have reached an agreement in principle over the Cancelo deal after intense negotiations that went on for a while.

Cancelo to arrive in loan-to-buy deal worth €30 million+

Barça and Man City had been locked in talks for Cancelo for some time now, with Jorge Mendes mediating the discussions.

A breakthrough in negotiations appeared to have been reached earlier this week and the two teams have now agreed a deal in principle.

As per the report, Cancelo will join Barcelona on a season-long loan deal with a purchase option worth a little over €30 million embedded in the deal.

The buy option is understood to be non-mandatory and will depend on certain objectives being met, such as the Portuguese international playing in 70% of the Blaugrana’s official matches and the club reaching the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.

Xavi has been pushing hard to sign Cancelo to reinforce the right-back position, an area that has been an issue for Barcelona for way too long now.

The 29-year-old will arrive to be the undisputed starter in the position, allowing the likes of Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde to continue playing in their natural centre-back roles.

With an agreement in principle reached, it only seems a matter of time before Cancelo lands in Catalonia.