Guardiola ecstatic as Man City close in on £32.3m transfer, with medical expected on Friday

Pep Guardiola will be spared a major headache after Manchester City received a sizeable £32.3m bid and entered talks over selling a player he’d rather not keep, according to reports.

Man City remained curiously quiet for the bulk of the summer window, with Savinho – signed from sister club Girona – their only major signing.

Despite selling Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid in a club-record sale worth £81m, Man City did not plan to sign a replacement.

However, on the back of Oscar Bobb suffering a fractured leg, City have sprung into action and a move for Celtic ace Kyogo Furuhashi is taking shape.

Elsewhere, Man City are primed to re-sign Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer from Barcelona.

Gundogan has agreed personal terms with City and Guardiola is understood to be overjoyed about re-signing a player he can fully trust.

One player within his ranks who Guardiola isn’t all that keen on, however, is Joao Cancelo.

Cancelo return gives Guardiola headache

The versatile full-back remains an elite-level performer, though Cancelo has no place in Guardiola’s plans.

Kyle Walker is the only traditional full-back Guardiola features in his team selections and even he is no longer an automatic pick.

Instead, Guardiola often features centre-backs such as Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol in the full-back berths.

Cancelo spent time loaned to Bayern Munich and Barcelona over the last 18 months. The Portuguese was willing to re-sign with Barcelona, though their financial strife has thus far prevented a second move.

Cancelo returned to Man City first-team training this summer and Guardiola recently admitted the 30-year-old could make a surprise return to his matchday squads this season.

“He’s training with us,” Guardiola said during a press conference one week ago. “We will see, maybe stay, maybe go on loan. I don’t know yet.

“He’s training with us, behaving really well in the training sessions. He loves to play football. We will see.”

But according to two fresh updates, not only will Cancelo not be staying at Man City, but the club are primed to secure a lucrative sale.

READ MORE: The key contract details of every Man City first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…

Cancelo heading to Saudi champions

Firstly, news from Saudi Arabia claimed Al-Hilal are closing in on signing Cancelo for €38m/£32.3m.

Cancelo’s camp are asking for a three-year deal and Al-Hilal are prepared to pay the veteran an annual salary of €22m. That roughly equates to a weekly wage of £360,000.

A medical has reportedly been pencilled in for Friday and transfer guru Fabrizio Romano added weight to the claims with his own update.

Taking to X, Romano stated: “Al Hilal have submitted formal bid to sign Joao Cancelo as negotiations are underway with Man City and player’s camp.

“He’s the first choice for Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus. In case of Cancelo’s arrival,

“Al Hilal right-back Saud Abdulhamid could join AS Roma as talks took place.”

Al Hilal are the club who won a Saudi league and cup double last season. They’re also the team that set a new world record when winning 34 consecutive matches.

The club – managed by Cancelo’s countryman, Jorge Jesus – count household names like Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic amongst their ranks.

Cancelo could be the latest big name to sign up and in doing so, will net Man City a significant fee and remedy a Guardiola headache.

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