The Portuguese full-back is on loan in Bavaria from Manchester City (Picture: Getty)
Thomas Tuchel believes Joao Cancelo is ‘really happy’ at Bayern Munich and is keen to sign the full-back permanently amid rumoured interest from Arsenal.
The Portugal international very suddenly fell out of favour at Manchester City and Pep Guardiola elected to offload his disgruntled star in January, with Cancelo moving to Bavaria on loan until the end of the season.
He came straight into the side initially, registering an assist on his debut, but was used more sparingly in the final days of Julian Nagelsmann’s tenure and the start of Tuchel’s reign.
Since the start of April, however, he has clearly earned the trust of his manager and has started the last six Bundesliga matches – registering two assists and helping Bayern stay one point clear of Borussia Dortmund in the title race.
It is unclear if the German giants will try to sign Cancelo permanently, with his move including an enormous €70million (£60.7m) buy clause, while Arsenal have recently been linked with an audacious swoop for what could be their City castoff.
Tuchel is clearly a massive fan of the 28-year-old, though, and is hopeful of keeping him at the club beyond the end of the season, with talks scheduled once the campaign has concluded.
Asked about Cancelo’s future at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Tuchel responded: ‘I have the impression that he feels very comfortable here.
Cancelo has played a prominent role in Bayern’s title run-in (Picture: Getty)
‘But in the end all parties are part of the decision.
‘His desire in training is unique. I have the feeling that he is really happy here. We’ll discuss everything else after the end of the season.’
Cancelo played against parent club City in the Champions League quarter-finals last month, losing 4-1 on aggregate with the Portuguese full-back a late sub in the first leg thrashing before starting in the second leg draw at the Allianz Arena.
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Although Bayern were ultimately out-classed, the contest was a lot more even than City’s one-sided demolition of Real Madrid in the semi-final and Tuchel feels it underlines how well his side performed despite going out.
Asked if he has reassessed Bayern’s display after City’s latest masterclass, Tuchel replied: ‘I was able to assess it quite well at the time. It was confirmation that it was much closer than it said on the scoreboard. I still believe we had them on edge in both legs.
‘That’s the benchmark. I think we played against them at a very high level. We don’t have to be ashamed that we were eliminated, but of course we’re annoyed. But we’ll be back!’
MORE : Arsenal interested in Joao Cancelo swoop as Man City outcast’s future remains unclear
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The Portuguese full-back is on loan in Bavaria from Manchester City.
