There is no truth to reports that Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich will join Manchester City in a straight swap deal with Joao Cancelo, according to journalist Christian Falk.
Speaking on Sportbild‘s Youtube channel (translated to English), the German reporter knocked down suggestions that Kimmich is unsettled in Munich and he even expects the player to negotiate a contract extension with Bayern in the not-too-distant future:
“That’s not true, at least there won’t be this exchange [of Cancelo and Kimmich]. FC Bayern is not interested in giving up its top performer and maybe future captain… Kimmich is not ready to leave Bayern either. He has big goals, and, yes, he may [even] negotiate the next contract again [with Bayern] himself.”
It had been suggested that Kimmich was keen on a new challenge away from Germany. He did speak about the possibility of leaving the Bundesliga last year.
With Cancelo on loan at Bayern, there were claims that an exchange could take place if the German club couldn’t afford to pay the fullback’s €70m (£61m) purchase clause. However, it appears, no such swap is likely.
What will happen to Cancelo if Bayern don’t take up their option to buy him?
Cancelo is still not expected to remain at the Etihad if he does return to Manchester. Finding a buyer could be difficult, especially as City will demand a high transfer fee.
Arsenal have been credited with an interest in the Portuguese international but it’s unlikely that the Citizens would be prepared to sanction such a move, after allowing both Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to join the Gunners a year ago.
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