Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur are keeping tabs on Illya Zabarnyi but Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions Manchester City should make a move for the Dinamo Kiev defender too, former Ukrainian Premier League coach Vyacheslav Grozny tells FanDay.
The ‘Kyle Walker at centre-back experiment’ lasted just 45 minutes in midweek; Guardiola hauling the England international off at half-time during the humbling 2-0 EFL Cup quarter-final defeat to Southampton. Walker was left choking on Sekou Mara’s dust in the build up to the Saints’ wonderfully-crafted opener. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he looked very much like a right-back playing out of position at centre-back. Probably because that’s exactly what he was.
But, with John Stones and Ruben Dias suffering from niggles, Walker’s inclusion in an unfamiliar central role – you could argue – highlighted a lack of genuine depth available at the heart of Guardiola’s backline.
Grozny feels that City could do a lot worse than to make a move for Zabarnyi, then; the 20-year-old Ukraine international possessing the potential and the technical-ability to thrive in a Guardiola team.
Leicester and Tottenham like Illya Zabarnyi but could Man City make a move?
“This is the most promising Ukrainian central defender. I won’t be surprised if Zabarnyi is in demand this winter,” says Groznyi, a former Dnipro and Spartak Moscow coach. “I think Dynamo can sell him for very good money to a big club.
“They won’t even talk to the mid-table peasants. Clubs such as Man City should pay attention to Zabarnyi. He is no worse than Stones, and playing with a partner like Dias (would be) fantastic. I really want to call Pep Guardiola and recommend Zabarnyi to him.
“He has a great first pass, he’s perfect positionally, does not commit fouls. It will be easier for him to play for top European teams than at Dynamo, because there are high-level players.”
Zabarnyi has been linked frequently with a move to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham in recent months, even if Dinamo Kiev president Igor Surkis did pour cold water on suggestions that a £25 million bid arrived from Spurs towards the end of the summer transfer window.
According to Ukrainian reporter Viktor Vatkso, Leicester enquired about Zabarnyi in August after selling Wesley Fofana for Chelsea. The Foxes signed Wout Faes instead, however, after being priced out by Dinamo Kiev.
Leicester could now target more defensive additions. Caglar Soyuncu, after all, is closing in on a move to La Liga giants Atletico Madrid. According to Fabrizio Romano, Soyuncu has already agreed terms with Diego Simeone’s side.
The Turkish international’s Leicester contract expires in July.
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