Barcelona have dipped into the January market again this season, bringing in Joao Cancelo on a loan deal until the end of the season. The Portuguese was something of a surprise arrival at Camp Nou, with manager Hansi Flick advocating for the addition of a central defender rather than a full-back.

Currently involved in a tight title race with Real Madrid, and still competing for the Champions League and Copa del Rey, an australian online casino has them among the favourites for all three competitions. Coming into the season with a shorter squad, there is certainly an argument that any extra depth will be useful for Flick.

Initially, Cancelo was thought to be on the move to Inter, but was keen to return to Barcelona. Following a conversation between agent Jorge Mendes and Barcelona President Joan Laporta though, a decision was made, and Cancelo began packing his bags to return to Catalonia. The 31-year-old spent a season on loan at Barcelona back in 2023-24, and showed some of his vast technical quality going forward, but things did not end well, with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid exploiting him defensively, and all but ending Barcelona’s season.

Cancelo’s arrival does add more options to Barcelona’s defence, which as things stand, has only a few options in the full-back positions. Alejandro Balde and Gerard Martin are the two options at left-back, even if the latter has been used in central defence more lately, and Jules Kounde is the only regular option at right-back. Eric Garcia has performed well there, but he too has had more action in central defence. The other options at the back are Pau Cubarsi and Ronald Araujo, with Andreas Christensen unlikely to play much before the end of the season.

On the one hand, Cancelo does add a technical quality and an incisiveness going forward that is lacking in both Balde and Kounde. Both have been playing the vast majority of games, and could do with more rotation.

On the other, going forward is not the area that Barcelona have been struggling in, and Cancelo is arguably a downgrade on both without the ball. Neither does Cancelo ease the concerns over the centre-back position, the larger issue this season.

Without a working knowledge of what else was available on the market for Barcelona, it is tough to say whether Cancelo was a good addition; his presence is better than no additions at all. That said, he is something of a luxury signing that for a side that is missing some base materials.