Pep Guardiola publicly confirmed Oleksandr Zinchenko is moving to Arsenal, while Man City are wasting little time spending the money they’ll receive.
Arsenal have agreed a £30m deal to sign the Man City utility man. £2m in achievable add-ons could bring the final fee to £32m, though that figure could still wind up being a bargain for the Gunners.
Zinchenko can operate at both left-back and in central midfield. Mikel Arteta has been looking for reinforcements in both of those areas this summer. Zinchenko’s arrival will tick both boxes.
Personal terms have already been agreed and per Fabrizio Romano, the first part of his medical has been passed.
Once the procedure is completed, official confirmation of Zinchenko’s move will quickly follow.
City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed any fears Arsenal fans may have had regarding a last-minute hitch.
When speaking about saying goodbye to Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Zinchenko, Guardiola confirmed the latter will “move on to Arsenal.”
“From myself and on behalf of the club, our gratitude for the efforts, for how they behaved on and off the pitch,” said Guardiola.
“It was nice yesterday with [Zinchenko] because we could say bye properly. Unfortunately with Raheem and Gabriel we could not do it because it was the summer time.
“But yesterday at dinner together we could say bye to him and move on to Arsenal.”
Cucurella deal ramping up
City are lining up Brighton’s Marc Cucurella as Zinchenko’s direct replacement.
The Brighton ace, 23, enjoyed a fantastic debut campaign in the Premier League last term. His exploits helped him land the club’s Player of the Season award.
Romano added Man City are poised to open ‘official talks’ with Brighton after a ‘full verbal agreement’ on personal terms with the player was ‘almost reached’.
With that hurdle quickly set to clear, all eyes will be on how much Brighton make City pay. Previous reports have claimed they value Cucurella around the £50m mark.
Zinchenko, Cucurella deals excellent business all around
In Zinchenko, Arsenal will be landing a Premier League-proven player in his prime. His versatility is known to have appealed to Arteta.
City will also generate a sizeable fee for a star who has never been more than a squad player at the Etihad.
In Cucurella, they’ll potentially be landing an upgrade if his first season at the AMEX is anything to go by. Indeed, Cucurella trailed only Trent Alexander-Arnold in the chances created department by Premier League full-backs last season.
Brighton will be reluctant to sell, though money will likely talk in the end. In that regard, the Seagulls could more than triple the £14m outlay they paid Getafe last summer if they can secure around £50m.
