Manchester City allowed Joao Cancelo to leave for Bayern Munich after becoming disruptive to the squad.
The full back has been vocal in recent weeks at a lack of game time and his relationship with Pep Guardiola progressively deteriorated after the World Cup.
The severity of the situation meant City gave Cancelo the green light to depart once he brought a loan offer from Bayern to the table and he is putting the finishing touches to the move.
The Bundesliga champions have the option to purchase the Portugal international for £61million once the season finishes.
Cancelo, 28, has held heated discussions with Guardiola and started only three of the 10 fixtures since returning from international duty. He was hooked at half time of a win over Chelsea and played in defeats by Southampton and Manchester United.
After being named as a substitute before the recent victory over Wolves, Cancelo was seen slumped on the bench while other members of City’s team warmed up ahead of kick off.
The agreement for him to seal a switch to the Allianz Arena appears to leave City short of defensive cover, but club sources are adamant that they have enough if a replacement does not arrive before the deadline.
Nathan Ake has performed admirably at left back in recent weeks, and is enjoying a stellar campaign, while youngster Sergio Gomez has made 12 appearances since joining from Anderlecht. Aymeric Laporte can fill in if required.
But the Premier League champions are perennially searching for a traditional left back. City opted against triggering Ben Chilwell’s £42m release clause when he left Leicester for Chelsea in 2020 but could return for him after refusing to meet Brighton’s valuation of Marc Cucurella last summer.
Benjamin Mendy’s contract is set to expire during his retrial on two counts of sexual violence, to be heard at Chester Crown Court on June 26. Mendy remains suspended by City.