Oleksandr Zinchenko is close to a north London switch from Manchester City, with Arsenal expected to land the Ukrainian valued at £35 million by the Premier League champions.
The news was reported by Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail and then later confirmed by Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News, both of whom highlighted that Arsenal manager and former City assistant manager Mikel Arteta has an excellent relationship with the player.
Rumours of the left-back's exit and Arsenal's interest have been in circulation since the end of May, with the potential move coming after the successful transfers of Gabriel Jesus to the Emirates for £45 million and Raheem Sterling to Chelsea for between £47.5 million and £50 million.
Gaughan reports that the Gunners are currently thrashing out a deal with City, with the hope that the finances are agreed over the coming days – and Bajkowski reports that, although work remains before a deal is complete, enough progress has been made over the last week for the transfer to be seen as a genuine possibility by all relevant parties.
Bajkowski reports that the Blues will look to replace Zinchenko in the transfer market, and Brighton's Marc Cucurella has been widely confirmed as their priority target at left-back. However, Graham Potter's side are expected to hold out for around £50 million for their current Player of the Year and are in no need to sell.
With only 15 Premier League appearances in the previous season and a reported desire to play in midfield, a move to Arsenal would make sense for Zinchenko, who is reportedly seen as an alternative to Arsenal's previous target – Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez, who looks set to seal a move to Erik Ten Haag's Manchester United.
Zinchenko was purchased by City as a 19-year-old from FC Ufa in 2016 for a reported £1.4 million, and since that time, he has fought for his position playing a key role for Pep Guardiola's title-winning sides at left-back.
Should the move materialise, the 25-year-old will leave the club a four-time Premier League champion while also winning the FA Cup and four League Cups.
Written by: @Zersailles
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