Barcelona are in talks to sign Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo following the end of his loan spell with Bayern Munich.

The 29-year-old made a shock exit from the Etihad in the January transfer window and is reportedly set for a permanent move this summer.

According to talkSport, La Liga champions Barcelona have begun talks with City over acquiring the full-back, who arrived in Manchester from Juventus in 2019 for £60m.

Pep Guardiola’s side are believed to prefer selling the Portuguese international over another loan agreement and Barcelona could be in a position to meet City’s demands following the sale of Ousmane Dembele. 

Barcelona boss Xavi outlined the club’s need to bolster their defensive line after the Catalan giants’ 1-0 friendly win against AC Milan on Tuesday.

Joao Cancelo established himself as one of the best attacking full-backs in world football

Barcelona boss Xavi has spoken of his side’s need to recruit a ‘pure right-back’ this summer

Joao Cancelo’s loan move to Bayern came after a training ground bust-up with Pep Guardiola

‘With the departure of Dembele, we need a pure right-back now,’ he told reporters.

Cancelo made 21 appearances for Bayern during the second half of the campaign, helping the German giants capture their 11th straight Bundesliga title on an eventful final day.

The move was enforced after a training ground bust-up with Guardiola in which the defender is said to have reacted angrily after he learned that he would not be in the starting XI for City’s FA Cup clash with Arsenal in January.

Cancelo had been vocal at a lack of game time and became disruptive to the squad while his relationship with Guardiola progressively deteriorated after the World Cup.

He made his return to the City squad for the start of pre-season and caught the eye in the side’s opening friendly victory against Yokohama F. Marinos.