Report reveals Al-Hilal’s asking price to sell Joao Cancelo to Barcelona in the summer | OneFootball

Barcelona’s long-running need for full-back stability could lead them back toward Joao Cancelo this summer, but the operation will not come cheap. The Portuguese defender remains a player the club value highly, but his parent club are not going to make the Catalan club’s life easier.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Al-Hilal are demanding €15 million to let Cancelo join Barcelona in the summer. The full-back has demonstrated his usefulness under Hansi Flick, especially in games where his energy and attacking aggression from full-back have stood out.

The price is not outrageous in today’s market, especially for a player with Cancelo’s experience and versatility. He can operate on either flank, brings creativity in the final third, and already understands the demands of playing for Barca.

At the same time, this is still not a simple deal. Barcelona do not just have to decide whether Cancelo is worth that amount, they also have to judge whether that money should be used on a 31-year-old whose game offers clear quality but can have defensive lapses.

Barcelona are not out of the woods financially and this is quite a significant investment to be making on a player who is on the wrong end of his peak years. As good as his impact has been on his loan stint so far, no one knows how long it will continue.

Considering Cancelo is no longer in Al Hilal’s plans, if the player intends to continue at Barcelona, the Catalan club will have the upper hand in negotiations and can drive a hard bargain to bring the fee down. It remains to be seen how things play out on this front in the coming months.