Inter in talks to sign ex-Man City star after Barcelona cool interest – Sources | OneFootball

Inter are carrying out internal evaluations over a possible proposal to send to Al Hilal for Joao Cancelo, we can reveal.

The Italian club are seriously considering the Portuguese full-back as a short-term solution and have already started direct talks with Al Hilal and with his agent, Jorge Mendes, about a loan deal until the end of the season.

Cancelo is expected to leave the Saudi side in January amid a difficult situation with head coach Simone Inzaghi.

The defender was excluded from the domestic league squad, a clear sign of a broken relationship.

For this reason, Cancelo is now pushing to return to Europe, where he believes he can find regular minutes and regain top form ahead of the World Cup.

Inter see Cancelo as a valuable and experienced option, able to play on both flanks and add quality to the squad during the second half of the campaign.

Negotiations are still at an early stage, but Al Hilal have shown openness to the idea of paying a large part of the player’s salary to make the move easier.

Barcelona have also been linked with re-signing Cancelo in recent days. However, despite some contact, the Spanish club do not see him as an absolute priority at the moment and have not made decisive steps forward.

With January approaching, Inter remain one of the most concrete options for Cancelo, as discussions continue.

Cancelo joined City from Juventus in August 2019 and went on to make 154 appearances for the club, helping them win a host of silverware, most notably three Premier League titles and one Champions League.

But Cancelo became frustrated in the first half of the 2022-23 season when he was rotated by Pep Guardiola, sparking a loan move to Bayern Munich. The 31-year-old also spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Barca before joining Al Hilal for €25million (then £21m).

Injuries have limited Cancelo’s impact for Portugal in recent international camps, and a successful transfer would increase his chances of making Roberto Martinez’s World Cup squad.