What next for Inter after losing out on Cancelo to Barcelona?

Joao Cancelo is set to return to Barcelona rather than Inter in January, and the Nerazzurri may now hold off on the signing of a new wing-back until the summer transfer window according to the latest updates. 

Over the last few days, Inter had explored a potential deal to bring former loanee Joao Cancelo back to San Siro on loan from Al-Hilal for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

This was due to the fact that Denzel Dumfries has been unavailable through injury since November and is not expected to return for several more weeks, if not months, after having surgery in December. 

Cancelo, who had been looking to leave Al-Hilal in January, attracted the interest of the Nerazzurri, who had been in discussions over a part-exchange deal involving either Stefan De Vrij or Francesco Acerbi moving in the opposite direction, reuniting with former Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi. 

Reports on Monday claimed that Inter had a verbal agreement in place with Al-Hilal.

However, Inter were not the only interested party, and reports had always made it clear that Cancelo preferred a move to Barcelona in January. The Catalan giants have since moved quickly to secure agreements with both the player and his current employers. 

According to updates from La Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday, however, Inter are not currently expected to make any significant investments on a new wing-back in January after missing out on Cancelo. 

That is because Cristian Chivu already has Luis Henrique and Matteo Darmian at his disposal, both capable of playing at right wing-back, while summer signing Andy Diouf is also able to cover in that role as a back-up. 

That does not rule out a potential move for a new wing-back during the summer, though, Reports from Corriere dello Sport claim that Atalanta’s Marco Palestra could be of an option for a permanent deal in a few months’ time. 

Meanwhile, De Vrij and Acerbi, who had been linked with moves to Al-Hilal had Cancelo joined Inter, are now not expected to move to Saudi Arabia this window.