Hansi Flick has all but confirmed the signing of João Cancelo and explained why Barcelona decided to bring in the Portuguese full-back on loan until the end of the season.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia ahead of the Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Club, Flick said that while he preferred the signing of a center-back this month, he welcomes the addition of Cancelo due to his versatility at the full-back position, and the coach also accepted the difficulties of the market
as well as the club’s financial situation.
“I spoke with my staff and we think that when Ronald [Araujo] is back we have good alternatives at center-back. João can play at both full-back positions. It’s not a done deal, but I’d be happy if it goes through. We talked about signing a center-back, but this is a good option for these six months.
“You know the situation better than I do. We are in a situation where we have to be smart in signings, it’s not like the other teams that can pay hundreds of millions for players. But it’s okay, for young players it’s good, they can develop and we trust them. Now we have the opportunity to have an experienced player for the attack, we have to work on it.”
It seems pretty clear that Flick went into this window wishing for a center-back but quickly realized there is no good deal available, and that Cancelo is the most realistic option in the market right now. Flick has more than proven his ability to get his best out of pretty much every player in the squad, and Cancelo’s arrival allows the coach to test other options, such as Jules Kounde at center-back.
This is certaintly not the ideal defensive signing in January, but this is the only one Barça can make.
