Ruben Amorim has reportedly been “made aware of the chance” to sign former Manchester City star Joao Cancelo by the Manchester United bosses.
Cancelo left Manchester City for Al Hilal in a permanent deal worth £21m in the summer, but hadn’t made a City appearance since January 2023, when he moved to Bayern Munich on loan, ahead of another temporary switch to Barcelona for the 2023/2024 season.
There were reports of a falling out between City boss Pep Guardiola and Cancelo which led to exit from the club, but the Portuguese full-back has denied claims of a rift between the pair.
Speaking to Portuguese outlet O Jogo, Cancelo said: “We talked, it was a conversation, not a discussion, and we decided that the best thing would be for me to leave this market.
“An opportunity I couldn’t refuse. It was by mutual agreement.”
Cancelo has made 17 appearances for Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League this season, contributing five assists from right-back.
But transfer expert Steve Kay claims there’s a chance Cancelo could return to the Premier League, with City’s bitter rivals Manchester United thought to be considering a move.
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The decision over whether to go after the 30-year-old is said to have been left to under-pressure head coach Amorim, and any thoughts of Cancelo not wanting to upset City has been firmly put to bed – there’s no love lost there.
Kay claimed on his YouTube channel, KS1 TV: “This is one that came to my attention this morning. This was mentioned to someone I’m very close with during the post-match press conference alongside other journalists at Tottenham on Sunday.
“Manchester United have made Amorim aware there’s a chance Cancelo could come to United, and they’ve basically left it in the hands of the manager.
“As soon as I heard that I started putting together the links, where did the source come from, he’s Portuguese, the manager, but then it’s Man City, but he left on bad terms. All of a sudden things started slipping into place. Yes, I have to trust my sources, there’s a possibility, there is a chance. I would say about £30m I would have thought.
“My thing was, would he go after being at City to United? But I’ve spoken to a few people today about it and Cancelo has that temperament where he doesn’t give a damn, he won’t give a damn about that, he doesn’t like the hierarchy at City.”
