Paul Hirst of The Times is claiming that Man City manager Pep Guardiola have decided to put Oleksandr Zinchenko and Nathan Ake up for sale.
The Man City manager has decided that he has enough players in defence so if any club is offering the right fee then the Manchester City will allow the pair to leave during the summer transfer window.
Zinchenko has played in 15 Premier League games this season and most of these appearances have come during the final few months of the season but Ake’s situation is even worse as he’s played only 923 minutes in the Premier League.
Ake is of no use because Guardiola has players much better centre-backs like John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias and since City are chasing Marc Cucurella, the manager can afford to let Zinchenko leave as well.
Where will the two Man City players end up?
Zinchenko is obviously wanted by Arsenal and now that Guardiola has given the green signal, the Gunners are surely going to launch a formal bid.
If everything goes well then the full-back should be playing in Arsenal colours next season.
Oleksandr Zinchenko vs Scotland:
1 Assist
85 Touches
59 Accurate Passes
86.8% Pass Accuracy
7 Ground Duels Won
4 Tackles
3 Key Passes
2 Successful Dribbles
2 Accurate Long Balls
2 Big Chances Created
1 Clearance
1 Accurate Cross
1 Aerial Duel Won pic.twitter.com/iO2zepp1ZT— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) June 1, 2022
However, there have been no links to Nathan Ake yet but as soon as the news spreads, we are sure a few teams will come sniffing around.
His contract with Man City expires in 2025 so City can afford to quote a high value for him but we think Guardiola will allow him to leave for a bargain deal because he’s mostly been a second-fiddle player for them.
Anything beyond £25-30 million and no club will show an interest in signing the central defender.
Do Arsenal need a player like Zinchenko?
Arsenal have two left-backs in the form of Tierney and Nuno Tavares and they are also on the verge of signing Aaron Hickey from Bologna so at least on paper, Mikel Arteta has no need for Zinchenko.
However, according to the transfer experts, Arteta views the Ukrainian as a midfielder and wants to use him alongside Thomas Partey next season.
At Man City, Zinchenko is a left-back but he regularly plays in midfield for his national team so that position is not completely alien to him. He played as an advanced midfielder against Scotland this week and was the best player on the pitch, ending the match with an assist.
