Why signing Oleksandr Zinchenko could be a coup for Wolverhampton Wanderers
Newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers have launched a €12million bid to sign Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Wolves have been on a spending spree this summer since confirming their Premier League status. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have already signed Ruben Vinagre, goalkeeper Rui Patricio, Raul Jiminez (on-loan from Benfica), Leo Bonatini, Benik Afobe, Willy Boly and Diogo Jota ahead of the next season.
Now, Wolves are interested in bringing the versatile Zinchenko to the Molineux Stadium. The 21-year-old Ukrainian international can play as a central midfielder, left midfielder and as a left-back. Signed from Russian side Ufa in the summer of 2016, Zinchenko was quickly sent to PSV on a season-long loan deal. He made 21 appearances for PSV and Jong PSV in the 2016/17 season.
The youngster has been capped 17 times by Ukraine. He broke Andriy Shevchenko’s record to become Ukraine’s youngest scorer in May 2016, after scoring his first international goal in a 4-3 friendly win against Turkey.
Zinchenko forced his way into Pep Guardiola’s Premier League-winning side last season. He made eight league appearances, starting in six games as a left-back. In total, Zinchenko made 14 appearances for City, including a start in a UEFA Champions League game against FC Basel.
City will be understandably hesitant to let the 21-year-old depart the Etihad. However, his game time for the Citizens could reduced drastically with the imminent arrival of Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez. Also, left-back Benjamin Mendy is edging closer to full fitness as well.
Following injuries to both Mendy and Fabian Delph, Zinchenko was given an extended run in the starting line-up as he provided cover for that position and produced some consistent performances. The youngster merely needs more playing minutes for his development and even a loan deal would benefit all parties involved.
According to WhoScored, Zinchenko racked up a solid average rating of 7.11 in his 8 Premier League appearances, with a successful pass rate of 92.4% and 4.5 tackles on an average.
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Guardiola is quite reputed when it comes to developing young players but it seems like he has failed to live up to that reputation since his arrival in Manchester two seasons ago. It remains to be seen whether the Catalan-born manager will sanction a deal to sell Zinchenko.
For Wolves, however, signing Zinchenko would be a major step forward as they must establish themselves as Premier League mainstays from next season.
