Manchester City in pole position as Barcelona abandoned too expensive Hector Bellerin

Barcelona have reportedly cooled their interest in Hector Bellerin after deeming the Arsenal defender ‘too expensive’.

The Catalan giants are instead focusing their efforts on Valencia and Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo, according to reports in Spain.

Right-back has been a problem position for the La Liga champions this season with both Sergi Roberto and Aleix Vidal failing to convince since the departure of Dani Alves.

Bellerin, a product of the club’s La Masia youth academy who left for north London at the age of 16, has long been thought of as the number one priority.

However, with the youngster signing a new six-year contract before Christmas and Arsenal demanding in the region of £45m to release him from it, Barcelona are looking at Cancelo instead, according to Marca.

If they fail to land Cancelo, the Spanish paper believes Monaco’s Djibril Sidibe is another possibility.

Barca are unlikely to make any transfer decisions until a new manager is appointed, however.

Luis Enrique announced that he would be leaving as coach at the end of the season following Barca’s 6-1 win over Sporting Gijon earlier this month.

Juan Carlos Unzue, Enrique’s assistant, is the current favourite for the job while Athletic Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde and Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino are also in the running.