For football fans of a certain age squad numbers still have real meaning – especially those early numbers 1-11 which are traditionally reserved for the first team.
Since joining Manchester City as a promising young attacker, Oleksandr Zinchenko has worn the number 35 on his back. That number pretty much reflected his lowly squad position until Pep Guardiola found himself in need of options at left back.
Gradually Guardiola developed Zinchenko into a left back of sorts and City have generally not looked back since. He has continued to improve in recent months and was recently rewarded for his efforts with a new improved contract.
City have tied Zinchenko to the club until 30 June 2024 and it is therefore no surprise he has now been given a new squad number to reflect his rise. From the 2019/20 season, Zinchenko will wear the number 11 on his shirt.
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The number has been out of use in our squad since Alex Kolarov departed for Roma. Traditionally this number is worn by attacking players, indeed some of my favourite City players have worn the number 11 such as Elano and Dennis Tueart.
At just 22 years of age Zinchenko has amassed an impressive trophy haul since playing at left back. He has won the Premier League twice, the League Cup twice, the FA Cup and the Community Shield.
In the years to come Zinchenko will continue to challenge Benjamin Mendy for our coveted left back berth. This will put pressure upon Mendy which will hopefully help him to continue to focus upon his own game.
It is clear that in our record breaking 2018/19 season, Zinchenko pretty much made the left back role his own. In total he played 29 games, assisting 5 goals and scoring just 1 – but what a goal that was against Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup Semi Final.
It seems a long way since last summer when City reportedly agreed to sell him to Wolves for £16 million. Yet, what this has shown is the attitude and spirit of this young Ukrainian player. if he is able to make a similar improvement next season he could become one of the brightest talents in football.