Joao Cancelo trained poorly — but heart-to-heart brought ‘joy’ back, says Bayern

Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann says a poor training session from Joao Cancelo was a factor in his recent lack of minutes at the German club.

Cancelo, 28, moved on loan to Bayern from Manchester City at the end of the January transfer window but has yet to make a real impact, starting just two Bundesliga games since his arrival in Bavaria.

The Portuguese full-back’s last start for Bayern came in the 3-2 defeat by Borussia Monchengladbach on February 18. Since then, he played 12 minutes against Union Berlin, four against Paris Saint-Germain and was an unused substitute last weekend at Stuttgart.

“He will get a chance to start, as of now,” Nageslmann said on Friday ahead of Bayern’s home game against Augsburg.

“In one practice he wasn’t really that sharp because he didn’t really like the situation he was in; when he’s not playing not everything is well. There are players who cope with it better, others not as much.

“There was one training session where he was not performing as I wanted him to but I had a really good chat with him.

“I was talking him about my path, about which chances might develop. I think this chat — he was very open as well, it was not just about football — will be really beneficial to him. He was training well after it. He has the joy back on the pitch.

“All the load you have on your shoulders needs to be left off the pitch. I’m going to give him a start to honour his training work and his reaction. I’m pretty confident he will show what he did in practice in the game.”

City manager Pep Guardiola was also asked on Friday about Cancelo’s lack of game time.

“Joao is a player for Bayern Munich,” Guardiola said. “I don’t have any comments. He’s Bayern Munich, at the end of the season we will review all the cases of players.”

As part of the loan agreement, Bayern have the option to buy Cancelo for €70million (£61.6m). His City contract expires in the summer of 2027.

(Photo: Getty Images)