Man City defender Joao Cancelo set to join Bayern Munich in surprise switch

Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo is reportedly joining Bayern Munich on loan in a surprise late January switch.

Instrumental in back-to-back Premier League title successes, Cancelo was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the past two seasons.

However, he has been woefully out of sorts in the current campaign and his game-time has reduced dramatically as a result.

Nathan Ake, City's match-winner against Arsenal on Friday, has firmly established himself as first-choice at left-back after a series of strong displays.

Over on the right side of the defence, where Cancelo can also play, teenage sensation Rico Lewis has been keeping the Portugal international and Kyle Walker out of the team.

And as a result, The Athletic say the former Juventus and Inter Milan man will be allowed to move to Bayern before Tuesday's transfer deadline.

The deal is likely to include a buy option and there's no word on whether City have a replacement lined up for Cancelo, who still has four years on his contract at the Etihad Stadium.

City paid £55 million to sign Cancelo from Juventus in 2019, with Brazilian full-back Danilo heading in the opposite direction as part of the deal.

He has gone on to make 154 appearances in all competitions, winning three trophies and helping redefine the full-back role in the modern game.

Image: Alamy

Cancelo was sent off in City's 2-1 win over Fulham in November and in the 11 games since then, has completed 90 minutes on just two occasions.

He has been an unused substitute in the last three fixtures and posted a cryptic message on Instagram when he wrote, "Don't let anyone dim your shine."

There have been rumblings of Cancelo being unhappy and not having a particularly good relationship with Pep Guardiola and his staff at present.

Cancelo, along with four other players, had been touted to leave the club in the summer in what is being called a "major exit operation".