Simone Inzaghi expects João Cancelo back despite Barcelona links | OneFootball

FC Barcelona came into this summer transfer window with one of their tasks cut out for them, i.e., the signing of Joao Cancelo from Al-Hilal after his loan period ended at the end of the last season. During this second loan stint with the Catalan club, the Portuguese fullback was able to convince Hansi Flick with his performances so much that he not only gave him the starting spot on the left flank, but also asked for his continuity going forward.

However, as opposed to their moves for forwards like Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, which they have completed with lightning speed, the Blaugranes have moved more slowly with Cancelo, like they have done with Julian Alvarez.

One of the main stumbling blocks in the operation is Al-Hilal’s stance of not giving up the player, despite him not being a part of Simone Inzaghi’s plans going forward. In this regard, SPORT cites the portal 365Scores to claim that the Saudis have no intentions of backing down from this position any time soon either, and Inzaghi is counting on Cancelo to join him in training after ending his vacation.

It has been around two weeks since the Portuguese defender saw his World Cup 2026 campaign come to an end, as his Portugal side was defeated by Spain in the Round of 16. Thus, he will have around one more week of holidays left, after which he will report back to Al-Hilal.

While the fullback is keen on a move back to Barcelona, Al-Hilal remain adamant that they have not received any offer from any club so far. Going forward, it remains to be seen when Barcelona will put in an offer, as they are expecting to be able to land him for less than €10 million, and can be helped by João Cancelo’s poor relationship with Inzaghi in this operation.