Bernardo Silva has admitted that the absence of Joao Cancelo is being felt by the Manchester City dressing room.
Cancelo joined Bayern Munich on loan until the end of the season on the final day of the January transfer window after falling out with City manager Pep Guardiola. Bayern have an option to make the move permanent for £61.5million in the summer, although the club’s sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, has suggested that a deal on those terms would be "difficult" to complete.
The Portugal full-back has made an immediate impact at Bayern, registering an assist inside 18 minutes on his debut and contributing another one in his second appearance on Sunday. City’s start to life without Cancelo did not start well, with a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham coming on the same day Bayern beat Wolfsburg 4-2.
Speaking after the match, Silva made it clear that Guardiola’s decision to loan out Cancelo might have a negative impact on City’s chances of chasing down Arsenal in the Premier League title race. “I'm happy for him because it was the path that Joao chose to follow happily in his life,” he told ELEVEN Portugal.
“[But I'm] Sad for the team and for me that I won't be able to count on him every day. He knows he's a person I really like, but he made the best decision for him and I'm happy for him.”
Cancelo has an outstanding record at City having contributed nine goals and 22 assists in 154 appearances since his £60m move from Juventus in 2019. He helped the club win two Premier League titles and two EFL Cups.
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Although the move came amid tension between the two, Guardiola has reiterated that Cancelo’s move to Bavaria is only a temporary one.
"Now, he's there. We [will] see what happens at the end of the season," Guardiola said of Cancelo at the weekend. "At the end of the season, we talk many, many things about many, many players."
He added: "Now, I say that about Joao, it looks like this and everyone says... At the end of the season, every season happens the same, we're going to talk with many players, [it has] happened since I arrived. Maybe, next season we could continue with absolutely all the players. [There] Could be new ones. I don't know.
"Ask me about Joao, about myself, nobody knows what is going to happen. Now the transfer window is closed, over. Focus on four months, a little bit more, left. After we will see what happens. I don't know what happens with any single player."
Guardiola has placed a lot of trust in 18-year-old academy graduate Rico Lewis in recent weeks. The youngster played at left-back in City’s 1-0 defeat against Tottenham on Sunday, with Kyle Walker at right-back.
Harry Kane’s goal meant that City missed the opportunity to cut the gap to Arsenal down to just two points, following the Gunners’ shock 1-0 loss at Everton on Saturday. Bayern, meanwhile, are one point clear of surprise challengers Union Berlin at the top of the Bundesliga.
