Barcelona sporting director Deco has provided an insight into the current fitness levels of the incoming João Cancelo.
This of course comes with the defender set to be imminently unveiled as a new Blaugrana player.
After Cancelo was made available for a loan transfer by parent club Al-Hilal, the Camp Nou brass swooped decisively to bring their former defender back to the club on loan.
The 31-year-old is set to provide some much-needed depth in the full-back positions in Hansi Flick’s squad for the 2nd half of the campaign.
🚨💙❤️ OFFICIAL: João Cancelo, back to Barcelona as exclusive story is now confirmed.
€4m salary coverage to Al Hilal, loan until June. pic.twitter.com/YboEDl4MIP
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 13, 2026
Barcelona’s first fixture with Cancelo at the disposal of Flick and his staff will come on Thursday, in the form of a Copa del Rey meeting with 2nd tier outfit Racing Club.
Speaking during an interview with RAC1 this week, the subject of the former Manchester City man’s potential participation was therefore put to the aforementioned Deco.
And the Blaugrana chief went on to explain:
“I don’t think Joao Cancelo will be ready for our next match. He has not been playing for a while and he needs a little time to get back up to speed.”
Conor Laird – GSFN