Many City fans will not begrudge seeing Oleksandr Zinchenko going on to pastures new should he move in the coming weeks despite their frowns and reflecting on their memories in a City shirt.
The Ukrainian has grown into the Cityzens and football fan’s hearts this year for his raw emotion and honesty when speaking about the Russian military invasion of his homeland and the heartbreaking scenes that have shocked the world.
The club has been linked with Marc Cucurella from Brighton as the new left-back with reports he and Joao Cancelo will be used in the left-back position, leaving Zinchenko third choice and free to move elsewhere. Rumours are that a trio of Premier League teams are after his services, with Arsenal the favourite after Mikel Arteta promised him his preferred role of central midfield.
West Ham, Everton and Newcastle are the other options with the Ukrainian likely to be favoured in the full-back areas for either team or used in both demonstrating his versatility in the process.
That working relationship with Arteta under Guardiola may favour him for a move down to London, providing that Arsenal free up some funds to be able to offer an acceptable price.
Time will tell over the summer. He was not willing to discuss his future following Ukraine’s attempt, and complete his dream, to qualify for this year’s World Cup in Qatar. They easily overcame Scotland 3-1 but failed to get the crucial victory against Wales, losing 1-0 in Cardiff on Sunday evening.
Rating: Fresh reports claim that Zinchenko will be more than happy to stay at City and fight for his place, with Guardiola also keen for the Ukrainian to remain.
However, the rumours have been strong during the off-season and I think there’s more of a chance that he will depart this season. Arsenal remains the favoured destination where he will end up moving into a position where he is familiar and stars with his national team.
Think this move will depend on Arsenal getting their number one target or not, Gabriel Jesus.
Likely destination come September: Arsenal