Barcelona and Manchester City close in on defensive swap deal

Manchester City have offered Barcelona Joao Cancelo in exhange for Nelson Semedo, claims Spanish outlet Sport.

Cancelo only joined City last summer after the Premier League giants sold Danilo to Juventus but has failed to make any impact at the club.

Pep Guardiola's side even considered selling Cancelo in January and are now offering the Portugal international a route out of his City misery.

City have proposed a swap deal with Barcelona that would see Cancelo move to Camp Nou and Semedo move in the opposite direction.

Barcelona have made Semedo available for transfer this summer as they desperately look to free up room for their summer transfer targets.

In addition to receiving a direct replacement for Semedo, City would also pay Barcelona a small fee due to the fact the 26-year-old has a higher transfer valuation.

Cancelo's arrival from Juventus was met with huge excitement last summer and it was thought the 25-year-old would replace Kyle Walker as City's first-choice right-back.

After a superb campaign for Juventus in 2018/19, however, Cancelo has made just eight Premier League starts this season and a transfer away is closing in.

Semedo, meanwhile, signed for Barcelona from Benfica in the summer of 2017 but has failed to nail down a regular starting berth at right-back. He has only made 16 league starts this term.