Barcelona sporting director Deco has revealed that it is too early to discuss whether Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo will join the club on a permanent basis despite his bright start to life at Camp Nou.
Following a six-month loan spell at Bayern Munich during the second half of last season, Cancelo returned to Man City for pre-season but was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Pep Guardiola.
Cancelo eventually joined Barcelona towards the end of the summer transfer window on a season-long loan deal with no option to buy, and he has since impressed under the tutelage of head coach Xavi.
The Portugal international has contributed with two goals and one assists in eight appearances as a right-back for the Catalan giants across all competitions, netting both of his goals in La Liga wins over Real Betis and Celta Vigo.
Cancelo is under contract at Man City until the summer of 2025, but the 29-year-old could leave the Etihad Stadium before then, with Barcelona said to be interested in recruiting the full-back on a permanent basis.
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A recent report claims that Barca have already reached an agreement with Man City to sign Cancelo in the summer of 2024 for around €35m (£30.4m).
The La Liga champions are also said to be exploring the possibility of signing Atletico Madrid loanee Joao Felix permanently, but a potential summer swoop would depend on Atletico's asking price amid the Catalan club's financial predicament.
However, Barca chief Deco has remained coy over possible permanent moves for either Cancelo or Felix, suggesting that such discussions are yet to have taken place at this early stage of the season.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News, about both Cancelo and Felix, Deco said: "The important thing is what they are contributing to the team.
"In the case of Cancelo, he is a player with experience, who has played at a high level in several teams for many years, he has quite a command of his position. Felix is more of the same, somewhat younger, but with experience already at Benfica, Atletico and Chelsea.
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"They are players who are contributing important things to the team but it is too early to talk about everything. At the moment they are helping us, which is what matters."
Cancelo himself has also taken a cautious approach when discussing his future, telling reporters in September: "First I want to perform here. It is not because of these two games that the entire team did well, with two victories that we convinced.
"What I want is to perform, and at the end to speak. First, perform, win titles with this club, be an important player on the team, and at the end talk about staying or not. It will depend on the club, on how I performed.
"In the end they measure you by performance, if you don't perform, you don't stay. If you perform, they will love you. So I want to perform, work and enjoy this club."
Both Cancelo and Felix were on the scoresheet on international duty with Portugal in their 5-0 away victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Monday, and the pair will soon return to Barcelona ahead of Saturday's La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao.
Oliver Thomas
