Why does Cancel need Bayern? And why did he leave Man City

The loan of Joao Cancelo from Manchester City to Bayern is the most sudden deal of the winter transfer window. The path from the first rumors to the medical examination was overcome in a few hours on January 30th. Cancelu will stay in Munich until the summer. Bayern have a buyout option for 70 million euros.

Why was the player who played the most outfield for Man City last season so easily released? And why does Cancel need Bayern?

The news about the lease, which is shocking at first, lacks logic.

Why did City part ways with Cancelo? Possible conflict with Pep and incompatibility with Holland

There are at least two factors that explain the sudden departure of the Portuguese. The first is the conflict with Guardiola. The Daily Mail as a publication is, of course, not the best source, but Jack Gohen, who works there, is trustworthy (especially since he works specifically for Manchester). His insider – Joao’s relationship with Pep deteriorated.

As a starting point, Jack takes the return of Cancelo after the World Cup. The problems began exactly then, or more precisely, at the game with the Wolves (January 22, 3: 0): offended by the fact that he again did not hit the start, Canselu sat out the pre-match warm-up on the bench while the others warmed up on the field.

Joao lost his place at the base just after the World Cup. Before him, the Portuguese played more than all City defenders. Despite a tight schedule, Cancelo only started three games. In one of them (against Chelsea), he was replaced already at half-time. The key explanation is the form after returning from Qatar.

It is important to recall that Cancelo has already asked to leave – similar thoughts arose during the first season of 2019/20 at City. Then Pep decided the issue by unexpectedly transferring Joao to the left side. Added to this was the role of a false fullback. Kansel did not have to constantly shift the ball under the right – from the central zone he could freely pass from the working leg. Pep’s idea worked great because of the variety of Joao’s techniques: he could transfer to the other flank, and cut the defense, and hang into the penalty area. Here is more about all its qualities.

This season, Cancelo rarely got a chance in his beloved role. Why? Well, here comes Erling Haaland. The transfer of the Norwegian automatically marked the transition from the false nine to the classic one. To accommodate Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gündogan (false nine + footballer who broke in the false nine formation), Pep began to use them deeper – where Cancelu used to shine.

Attempts to balance the game after the arrival of Haaland led Pep to another idea that hit João’s prospects. Now there are three in the four defenders at once – the central ones. Guardiola generally finished the match with Wolves with Ake, Akanji, Laporte and Stones (that is, the whole four were made up of the CB). This further limited options for Cancelo.

What did it lead to? Before the World Cup, Joao constantly went out, but in relation to previous seasons, he was often lateral. Due to sticking to the curb, the effect of surprise fell off, thanks to which Canselu vomited earlier. Pep even had to apologize to the Portuguese for using him in this role in a recent game against Chelsea (the penultimate start before the loan). The flank really limited his potential: this season, the Portuguese did not create a single clear chance for partners (in the past there were 8 pieces).

After the World Cup, Canselu lost his chance even in a less comfortable role. Here you need to blame Nathan Ake and the young Rico Lewis in a good way – the form of the Dutchman closed the left flank for Joao, and the City graduate reserved the right. Given the fact that Kyle Walker is also sitting on the bench, Cancelu decided not to wait and leave.

Characteristically, it was Joao who approached the club with a loan offer – City only has one proven full-back left, but Cancelo still does not see himself in the new structure. For him, playing practice is naturally a matter of life and death. When João doesn’t get it, you can’t hide your displeasure.

Guardiola, as always in such cases, agreed. Under him, City don’t hang on to players who want to leave. Here is one of the recent remarks: “I’m not the kind of person to say, ‘Stay with me.’ Everyone has their own dreams. People should leave relationships when they think it’s best for everyone. Players should leave if they are unhappy in the team.”

In this regard (up to the club he leaves for), Canselu follows the path of Leroy Sane. Three years ago, City let go of a player who played an important role in the championships, but ceased to be key (and happy).

Bayern have difficulty on the flanks of the defense – especially on the right

Hasan Salihamidzic’s progress as a sports director can now be proven with one example. In 2020, on the last day of the transfer window, Brazzo impulsively bought Bouna Sarra for 8 million euros as a plug on the right flank of the defense. In 2023, Brazzo rents Cansela.

An excellent option to strengthen the edges of the defense, especially the right flank, where Canselu spent most of his career.

The situation on the left is tolerable. Alphonso Davies is not having the best season of his career, but he is playing normally, without blinding flashes or frightening failures.

He is covered by Daily Blind, who terminated his contract with Ajax with a scandal and in January 2023 joined Bayern as a free agent until the summer of 2023. Blind has said that his favorite position is central midfield, but in recent years playing left-back has been fine. If necessary, cover the center.

Center back Luca Hernandez occupied the position on the left last season while Davis missed games due to heart problems. This season, Hernandez himself is unavailable – he dropped out before the summer due to a torn cross.

The right side is more difficult.

Benjamin Pavard is almost certainly spending his final season at Bayern. He could have been sold back in the summer of 2022, the German edition of Sport1 reported that Pavard was unhappy with the position and would like to play in the center of defense. He played in the autumn when De Ligt was out for a short time with an injury. And the rest of the time he competed for a place at the base with Nussair Mazraoui, who came for free from Ajax before the season.

Mazraoui is stylistically better suited to Nagelsmann’s dreams. This is a player of the Cancelo type – instead of creating a width high on the flank, he willingly participates in the promotion, episodically finding himself in the position of a defensive midfielder.

Nussair looked quite good (especially for the adaptation period), but during the 2022 World Cup he had a coronavirus and grabbed a serious consequence – inflammation of the pericardium, the outer shell of the heart muscle. At best, he will return to training in mid-February, he will definitely miss the matches of 1/8 of the Champions League with PSG.

The third option is Josip Stanisic, it was him that Nagelsmann first tried in the canselual role of a defensive midfielder. Quite acceptable, but the level of Stanisic does not correspond to the basis of a top club. For a full-back, he is infinitely lacking in speed. A striking example is the duel against Karim Adeyemi in the match with Dortmund, with victories in sprints Adeyemi created two scoring chances from Stanisic’s flank.

Buna Sarr is a legendary meme. Bayern’s main fansite has already issued an article warning that Cancelu is unlikely to be in the starting line-up as Sarr has returned to training after knee surgery and is determined to defend his status as the best right-back in Bayern history since Alvaro Odriozola.