Here are your Thursday evening Manchester City headlines
Man City problem
As Erik ten Hag has shown to great effect at Manchester United, sacrificing a disruptive player in order to maintain squad harmony is a risk worth taking.
It can be easily argued Cristiano Ronaldo was no great loss to the team anyway given his steep decline but his December departure did leave United with just one central striker for a number of games until Wout Weghorst was brought in. Without him sulking around the place, United's team couldn't look more together and have gone from strength to strength.
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It seems unlikely Joao Cancelo was going to be sitting opposite Piers Morgan anytime soon but it does appear the full-back's discontent over his lack of minutes in recent months might have been having a similar negative impact in the Manchester City dressing room. The fact Pep Guardiola had no qualms about allowing the defender he has used more than any other this season to walk out the door with a day of the transfer window remaining lays bare how sudden and sharp his fall out of favour was.
The risk may well pay off for City too but, in a window in which all of their close rivals have strengthened, it's undeniable that City have gone in the opposite direction. Arsenal brought in an exciting forward and a quality midfield option with plenty of winning experience. Chelsea have brought in everyone. Liverpool spent more money on another forward. United, Tottenham and Newcastle have all added to their squads. But City have allowed one of the most integral players to their last two title triumphs to depart.
Bayern pair on Cancelo
Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich admitted he hopes to 'have fun' with Joao Cancelo following the defender's loan move.
Cancelo left City in a shock deadline day move, agreeing a half-season loan deal with Bayern which can be made permanent at the end of the season for £61.6million. The Portuguese star has fallen out of favour since the turn of the year, with reports of a training ground bust-up between himself and Pep Guardiola opening the door to leave.
And the 28-year-old wasted no time hitting the ground running in Bavaria, starting in a 4-0 DFB-Pokal last-16 win against Mainz and setting up Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting for the opener inside 17 minutes - a performance his new teammates were more than pleased with.
Speaking about Cancelo's performance after the game, Kimmich told Sky Sports Germany: "He has amazing quality - you can see the quality he brings to the pitch. I hope that we will have fun with him."
And Kimmich's enthusiasm was echoed by 19-year-old star Jamal Musiala: "Everyone can see the quality he [Cancelo] has - he's a great technical player. We're happy he's here [at Bayern Munich]."
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