Premier League newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers are reportedly close to signing Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.
Oleksandr Zinchenko might have started just six Premier League games last season but he certainly played his part in Manchester City’s stunning 2017/18 campaign.
It was a breakthrough season for the young Ukrainian. Zinchenko returned to Etihad after spending the previous campaign on loan at PSV in Holland perhaps expecting to play a bit-part role, but he ended up making a respectable 14 appearances in all competitions for City.
The 21-year-old came on leaps and bounds, too. With opportunities in his favoured attacking midfield role almost impossible to come by, Pep Guardiola fashioned Zinchenko into a makeshift left-wing back with great results.
Perhaps this is why Wolverhampton Wanderers are allegedly prepared to break their transfer record to sign him. The Mirror claims that the Premier League newcomers are hopeful of finalising a £16 million deal, which would make Zinchenko slightly more expensive than Ruben Neves was last summer.
But while that seems like a huge sum of money, Wolves fans should think of this as two signings in one.
They would be signing one of the most promising attacking midfielders to emerge in Eastern Europe in recent seasons, a player with 17 caps for Ukraine already.
And they would also be getting a sophisticated and intelligent left-wing back who could prove a perfect fit for Nuno’s five-man back line.
Suddenly, £16 million looks good value.
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