Oleksandr

Zinchenko

Reliable and Versatile Ukrainian

Oleksandr Zinchenko joined City during the summer of 2016 from Russian side Football Club Ufa.

A left-sided attacking midfielder, he was immediately sent on loan to PSV Eindhoven, where, by his own admission, he didn’t play as much as he would have liked.

Undeterred, the 22-year-old returned to City and established himself in Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad, adding two Premier League titles, two Carabao Cups, an FA Cup and the Community Shield to his medal haul.

Zinchenko did so, however, at left-back rather than in midfield. Providing cover for the injured Benjamin Mendy and Fabian Delph, the Ukrainian international grew into his new role and turned in a number of eye-catching displays.

Held in high regard in Ukraine, Zinchenko developed at Shakhtar Donestk’s academy before moving to Russia without playing a first-team game.

He made 31 appearances for Ufa before City came calling, where he has become a popular player with management, players and fans for the manner in which he worked hard and waited for his opportunity.

He made his debut in the October 2017 Carabao Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers and went on to play 14 times, originally as an emergency left-back.

He saw much more action in 2018/19 and made the left-back role his own as evidenced in his standout performance in the Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea.

He ended the season with medals for all four of England’s trophies.

Though he suffered some injury setbacks during the 2019/20 campaign, Zinchenko still made 25 appearances including in 2019 Community Shield and 2020 Carabao Cup triumphs at Wembley.

During the 2020/21 campaign, the Ukrainian's form saw him make 32 appearances at left-back, with his steady, neat game impressing Pep Guardiola.

So much so, that the midfielder-turned-defender won a place in the starting XI in the Champions League final against Chelsea.