Where does Joao Cancelo fit in at Manchester City?

Manchester City have sealed the deal for Portuguese right-back Joao Cancelo for an estimated €30m with Brazilian Danilo moving to Turin as a part of the transfer.

Cancelo’s arrival in the city of Manchester in exchange for a backup full-back is widely regarded as coup with City’s board seemingly pulling a fast one under the noses of those at Juventus.

Manchester City fans are licking their lips at the prospect of the ex-Valencia man linking up with another Portugal international in Bernardo Silva, who also majorly operates along the right extremes of the pitch.

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What, however, does Cancelo bring to this already star-studded setup?

From a purely tactical point of view, Cancelo differs from City’s current first-choice right-back Kyle Walker in only one aspect. Ever since his early Benfica days, the Barreiro native has been defined by his attacking tendencies. Though Walker tends to get forward more often than not, his attacking output is nowhere close to the ex-Juventus man’s.

Under Massimiliano Allegri’s tenure at Juventus, Cancelo was majorly deployed at right-back but tended to push up often. His attacking forays often resulted in him occupying positions similar to that of a right-winger and thus leaving the right-hand side of Juve’s defence exposed to opposition counter-attacks. It was, for this reason, Allegri turned to the defensive-minded Mattia de Sciglio for the important fixtures over the new Manchester City man.

Manchester City under Pep Guardiola have grown in leaps and bounds. Their success can be attributed to the rigid and organized style of play that the Spanish coach has imbibed in the team. The full-backs of a Guardiola team must be excellent on the ball, tactically astute and must possess a high work-rate.

Though Cancelo ticks a majority of the boxes, his positional awareness, or the lack of it poses a problem to Guardiola. Unless the Spaniard works on ironing out the Portuguese’s flaws, he will see City’s right-hand side become the preferred medium for opposition teams to tear them apart on the counter.

Cancelo’s raw pace and dynamism will, however, provide an excellent outlet along City’s right side. His speed also allows him to recover quickly and he does have a mean tackle about him. Crossing is one of his strongholds, with it composing a major part of his game. Needless to say, his crosses are pinpoint and accurate, something that Walker hasn’t managed in a while.

Under the tutelage of an experienced head in Walker, the 25-year-old is expected to take giant strides and make a name for himself in this era of the modern-day attacking full-back. Highly comfortable on the ball and hardworking off it, Cancelo is the archetypical Pep fullback with his constant bombing up and down the right flank reminiscent of a former Guardiola favourite in Dani Alves.

Joao Cancelo is widely tipped to push the Englishman Walker for a first-team spot with the ex-Spurs man not having the best of seasons last year due to a multitude of highly inconsistent performances. He is expected to succeed where Danilo couldn’t by displacing Walker and cementing his position in the starting 11.

With age on his side, Cancelo has the opportunity to grow and develop along with one of the best sides in the world. Only time will tell if he etches his name into Manchester City’s folklore or if he turns out to be like Danilo, forgotten, booted out in exchange for a younger, fitter full-back.

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