Barcelona announce signing of Joao Cancelo on loan

Barcelona have announced that Joao Cancelo will put pen to paper on a loan deal on Tuesday, as he completes a loan move to return to the club, Report informs via Football Espana.

The Portuguese defender left the Blaugrana 18 months ago after a loan spell from Manchester City, when Barcelona did not pursue his permanent signature.

Cancelo, keen to leave Al-Hilal during the January transfer window, had interest from Inter and Juventus, and agreed a deal to return to Inter.

Initially, it seemed that Barcelona, who had enquired about Cancelo, had discarded the idea due to disagreements on his return internally. However, after a meeting between agent Jorge Mendes and Barcelona President Joan Laporta, the Catalan giants submitted a loan offer until the end of the season. It is thought that Cancelo was highly keen on a move back to Barcelona, and held out for the switch.

Manager Hansi Flick had initially been urging the club to bring in a central defender to make up for the loss of Andreas Christensen, but declared he was happy to have another offensive option on the books, and a player that could play on both flanks.

Director of Football Deco noted that a number of 'happy coincidences' had allowed the deal to go ahead, and declared that if the opportunity was there to improve the squad, it made little sense not to take it.