Manchester City transfer news: Bayern Munich sign Joao Cancelo on loan
It is a transfer no-one saw coming 48 hours ago - Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo has joined Bayern Munich on loan for the rest of the season.
The 28-year-old has played an integral part in the Premier League titles Pep Guardiola's side have won in the past two seasons, but has fallen out of favour and will move to Germany with an option to join permanently for 70m euro (£61.5m) in the summer.
The Portugal defender, who moved in 2019 from Juventus for £60m, has played more minutes for City than any other defender this season.
So why has he been allowed to leave? How has he fallen out of favour? Where does it leave Manchester City? What do pundits and fans think
'This is Guardiola flexing his muscles'
Cancelo has played 1,866 minutes across all competitions this season - 68 more than Manuel Akanji, City's second most-played defender. He has featured in 26 games, and was on track to play a similar level of games as in the past two seasons - 43 and 52.
However, only 256 minutes have been since domestic football returned after the World Cup, with him taken off at half-time at Chelsea. His other two starts were defeats at Manchester United in the Premier League and Southampton in the Carabao Cup.
His dip has coincided with the emergence of 18-year-old Rico Lewis, and Nathan Ake's improved form.
With no replacement likely in the January window City will be going into the remaining four months of the season with just 19 senior outfield players.
Winger Cole Palmer, 20, and left-back Sergio Gomez, 22, are also included in that number, with the pair only playing a combined 216 minutes in the Premier League this season. They only have two recognised full-backs in Lewis and Kyle Walker
Short presentational grey line
What will City lose in Cancelo's absence?
Cancelo, who signed to compete with Kyle Walker for the right-back slot, has largely been used as a left-back over the past two and a half seasons.
His ability to slot into midfield and act as a double pivot alongside Rodri, while also being able to attack down the wing and cut back in and cross the ball, has made him integral to the way Guardiola has set his side up.
However, a tactical tweak that sees City often play three centre-backs across a back four, allowing one of the full-backs - often Rico Lewis in recent weeks - to drift into midfield has limited Cancelo's involvement.
He has contributed 20 assists in the Premier League since the start of the 2019-20 season, behind only Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold (44) and Andrew Robertson (42), and nine goals
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