Man City fans know what Pep Guardiola is doing next after getting rid of Joao Cancelo

Manchester City fans believe manager Pep Guardiola has a trick up his sleeve after allowing Joao Cancelo to join Bayern Munich on loan for the rest of the season.

The news of Cancelo's departure on Monday afternoon shocked everyone, given his importance to City since arriving from Juventus in 2019.

Cancelo was instrumental in back-to-back Premier League title wins and was named in the PFA Team of the Year two seasons on the trot.

He's been below-par for most of this season, with the improved performances of Nathan Ake and the emergence of teenager Rico Lewis limiting the full-back's game time.

The Portugal international has been allowed to depart the Etihad Stadium after bringing an offer from Bayern to the table. Julian Nagelsmann's side are expected to have a buy clause in the deal as they'll need to strengthen on the flanks come the summer. Benjamin Pavard is out of contract in the summer and attracting interest from Barcelona.

City letting Cancelo go does leave them short themselves, given they're still in the FA Cup and will resume Champions League action next month.

Their options are Ake and Lewis, in addition to the veteran Kyle Walker and summer signing Sergio Gomez. Supporters on social media are convinced Guardiola will make a move in the transfer market before Tuesday's deadline.

It's a name you've likely become familiar with over the last few days. If you're a Tottenham Hotspur fan, look away now.

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Sporting CP full-back Pedro Porro has been linked with a move to the Premier League this month, with Chelsea and Spurs interested initially.

Chelsea opted to go for Lyon full-back Malo Gusto, who will join the Blues in the summer after spending the rest of the current campaign on loan in France.

Spurs are desperate to get a move for Porro over the line but all their work could be for nought. City have a buyback clause for Porro, who they signed in 2019. He never played a game for the club and the 23-year-old even claimed he never spoke to Guardiola.

Porro had loan spells at Real Valladolid and Sporting before putting pen to paper on a permanent deal last year. Although unconfirmed, it's believed Porro's buyback clause is only £16.9 million.

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The theory is going viral on social media, with several Twitter users convinced City will hijack any deal for Porro to fill the void left by Cancelo's exit.

One person said: "City will hijack the Pedro Porro/Spurs deal. Watch."

A second put: "The dominoes are falling into place for the most banter end to this window - Man City triggering Pedro Porro’s cut-price buyback clause."

Someone tweeted: "This 100 per cent makes sense."

While a fourth added: "Have a feeling the Pedro Porro deal collapsed because he’s gonna join Man City."

Ironically, City return to action on Sunday against Spurs. We'll see who Porro ends up lining up for.

Topics: Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Sporting CP

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

@DanMarland_