Saudi club Al-Hilal have taken a step towards keeping João Cancelo by assigning him a squad number, this despite reports saying for a long time that he was very close to re-joining FC Barcelona.
That step may just be posturing, as it’s understood Cancelo doesn’t have a place in the Saudi club’s squad with the signing of Mohammed Mahzari, a full-back, but it’s threatening to make life complicated for Barça if they do not acquiesce to final demands.
Cancelo has visibly enjoyed his time at Barcelona through
two stints already. His latest term at Barça was a success, earning him the starting position and increasing his stock just as he embarked to play the World Cup with Portugal. After his country’s early exit in the competition, reports have said he wanted nothing more than to return to Camp Nou.
Whispers in the transfer market point to personal terms being agreed for a while and agreement on a transfer fee — said to be around 10 million euro — being quite close. However, the last stage of the deal has been held up. Cancelo went back to training under Simone Inzaghi.
Despite this, insiders say Barcelona are confident that the deal will go over the line by the end of the month. However, the latest news suggests Al-Hilal are looking to maximize the fee they will get in return.
