Why Hansi Flick approved Barcelona deal for Joao Cancelo

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Barcelona would be re-signing Joao Cancelo on loan for the rest of the season. A deal has been agreed with Al Hilal, and in the coming days, he is expected to join up with Hansi Flick’s squad.

In the last couple of weeks, Cancelo emerged as a genuine option for Barcelona when it became apparent that he would be leaving Al Hilal. Inter had been favourites to sign him, but with the Portugal international always prioritising a return to Catalonia, the La Liga leaders were well-placed to get their man if a deal was deemed to be financially-viable.

Flick also had to sign off, which he did. As per Sport, he had multiple reasons for doing so, with the biggest being that he now considers his squad to have good depth across the board in the defensive department.

Cancelo is capable of covering at both full-back positions, which means that Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde will have strong competition for their starting places. Furthermore, the Frenchman can now be considered an option to play in a central role, which Flick will consider over the coming weeks and months.

Flick will not have centre-back wish honoured

In turn, it also confirms Gerard Martin’s permanent switch to a centre-back role, with Cancelo now being Balde’s competition at left-back. This is important, given that a specialist central defender will not be brought in this month, despite Flick having requested one behind closed doors.

Cancelo’s arrival does make a lot of sense for Barcelona, and it will be interesting to see whether he comes in as a starter. It will also be intriguing to watch how Kounde’s situation develops – in particular, whether he is used as a centre-back for the first time since Flick took over from Xavi Hernandez 18 months ago.