Barcelona are reportedly planning to use the money earned from the imminent sale of Ousmane Dembele to Paris Saint-Germain to move for Manchester City's Joao Cancelo.
The Catalan outfit's head coach Xavi has confirmed that Dembele is nearing a move to PSG, with the French champions activating a release clause in the forward's contract.
Barcelona will sign an attacker to replace Dembele, but they are also in the market for a new right-back, which remains a problematic position for Xavi.
Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo operated in that area of the field last season, but the club lack a specialist in that position; Sergino Dest has returned from a loan spell at AC Milan, but the United States international is not in the manager's plans and could have his contract terminated.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona will 'try one more time' to sign Cancelo, using the money that they will gain from Dembele's move to Paris.
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Romano claims that Cancelo is 'the priority', but Ivan Fresneda is also an option, with the full-back expected to arrive from Real Valladolid if a deal with Man City cannot be reached.
Cancelo spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayern Munich, representing the club on 21 occasions in all competitions, scoring once and providing six assists.
However, the Bundesliga giants turned down the chance to sign him on a permanent basis.
Cancelo is back at the Etihad Stadium and has been involved in Man City's preparations for the new season, featuring off the bench in the clash with Atletico Madrid last time out.
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The 27-year-old is not believed to be in the plans of Citizens head coach Pep Guardiola, though, and he is expected to leave before the end of the summer transfer window.
Cancelo arrived at Man City from Juventus in 2019, and he has represented the club on 154 occasions in all competitions during a successful spell.
The Portuguese has won three Premier League titles and one EFL Cup during his time at the Etihad Stadium, while he helped Bayern secure last season's Bundesliga crown.
"The right-back is a position that we should look at again, and reinforce. We have players who adapt but they are not in their natural positions. We will see how everything turns out and how we also fit into financial fair play," Xavi told reporters following the win over Milan on Tuesday.
Cancelo has also been linked with Arsenal this summer, but Barcelona are said to be firmly at the head of the queue for his services during the current market.
Matt Law
