Arsenal have reportedly joined the race to sign Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo this summer.
The 28-year-old was surprisingly sent out on loan to Bayern Munich on the final day of the January transfer window after losing his regular starting place at the Etihad Stadium.
Cancelo had been a key cog in Pep Guardiola's machine for two-and-a-half seasons, but the impressive form of Nathan Ake and the emergence of academy graduate Rico Lewis pushed him further down the pecking order.
The Portugal international has since made 13 starts and five substitute outings across all competitions for Bayern, who are understood to possess the option to sign the full-back on a permanent deal this summer.
However, the Bavarian giants allegedly have no plans to trigger that €70m (£61.5m) clause, meaning that Cancelo is set to return to the Etihad at the end of the season.
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Cancelo is under contract at the Etihad until June 2027 and has left the door open to resume his career with Man City next season, but a recent report claims that the Premier League leaders are looking to offload the defender permanently.
Barcelona are said to be in the market for a new full-back and Cancelo's agent Jorge Mendes is understood to have already held talks with the Catalan giants over a proposed move to Camp Nou.
Real Madrid and Chelsea have also been credited with an interest, but 90min reports that Arsenal are the latest club who are keen to explore the possibility of luring Cancelo away from the Etihad.
The report adds that Mikel Arteta, who worked with Cancelo during his time as an assistant coach at Man City, views the Portuguese as someone who could seamlessly slot into his system.
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Arsenal managed to successful lure two Man City players to the Emirates Stadium last summer in Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus, spending a combined fee in excess of £75m on the pair.
Zinchenko is regarded as the first-choice left-back under Arteta and has made 33 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners, while Jesus has contributed with 10 goals and seven assists in 30 matches.
The potential addition of Cancelo at Arsenal could see him compete with both Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney for a place at left-back, although he may instead challenge Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu for the right-back spot.
Since joining Man City from Juventus in 2019, Cancelo has recorded nine goals and 22 assists in 154 appearances across all competitions and has won two Premier League titles and one EFL Cup.
Elsewhere, Guardiola's Citizens side are reportedly confident of completing the signing of Arsenal's 16-year-old midfielder Ethan Nwaneri this summer.
Oliver Thomas
