Surprise club register interest in Joao Cancelo ahead of transfer deadline after Man City outcast left short of offers

A surprise club has registered interest in Joao Cancelo ahead of the summer transfer deadline.

Cancelo has dropped down the pecking order at Manchester City, with the player enjoying loan spells at Bayern Munich and Barcelona, where he played last season.

But the Portuguese is back at his parent club and is training with the squad.

However, he failed to make Pep Guardiola's matchday squad for their Premier League opener against Chelsea.

A move away from the Etihad is still on the cards despite the club not receiving any enquires for the 30-year-old.

Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, though, have expressed an interest in signing Cancelo, according to The Daily Mail.

Al Hilal chief executive Esteve Calzada, who used to hold a position at the City Football Group, hopes to strike a deal with the Premier League champions for the out-of-favour full-back.

Al Hilal are also keeping tabs on Cancelo's teammate Kyle Walker and Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong as the Saudi outfit look to replace Saud Abdulhamid, who is off to AS Roma.

Joao Cancelo in action for Portugal at Euro 2024. Image: Getty

Cancelo signed for Man City in the summer of 2019 and has made 154 appearances across all competitions.

His future seems to lie away from Manchester as Guardiola spoke about him ahead of their victory at Stamford Bridge.

"He's training with us," revealed the Blues boss.

"We will see. Maybe he will stay, maybe he will go on loan. I don't know yet."

Asked if there had been any transfer enquiries for Cancelo, Guardiola replied: "No."

He added: "About what's going to happen, it depends on his agents and the club. In the end, if he has to stay, we will treat him like all the other players, with respect, and try to take the best from the huge qualities he has."