Manchester City opinion – Pep must play Zinchenko instead of signing Chilwell
According to a report in the Telegraph, Premier League defending champions Manchester City may have to break the world transfer record for a defender if they are to sign Ben Chilwell from Leicester City in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The Foxes left-back is a prime target for Pep Guardiola, who is getting frustrated with Benjamin Mendy’s recurring injury problems. The Spaniard is hoping to make a huge summer splurge where he may potentially buy four new players (h/t Telegraph).
But if City are to sign Chilwell, it won’t be easy as new Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers considers him as an integral part of the plans (h/t Telegraph).
It means that an amount in excess of £75million – a world record fee for a defender paid by Liverpool to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton – would be required if Leicester are to be enticed to make an offload. (h/t Telegraph)
Rather than doing this, here’s why Manchester City should offer a first-choice left-back role to Oleksandr Zinchenko and focus on strengthening other areas in the summer:
Zinchenko has proved himself to deserve that role
Benjamin Mendy was signed in the summer of 2017 but the Frenchman hasn’t been able to contribute as much as the club would have expected him to. He suffered a long-term injury last season, and something similar has been the case this year as well.
Hence, Guardiola has had to contend with deploying either of Danilo, Fabian Delph or Zinchenko in the left-back role. Even though his favoured position is in attacking midfield, the latter has done well whenever he has played at Mendy’s position.
Guardiola’s system allows the fullbacks to come inside and join the midfield, making it comfortable for the 22-year-old to come inside and help the midfielders in possession, simultaneously make a smaller journey back to cover up the left side of the defence without the ball.
Hence, the Ukrainian has impressed whenever the manager selects him to play.
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Conclusion
Hence, rather than spending a fortune on getting a new left-back, Manchester City should consider offering a first-choice role to Zinchenko and focus on strengthening the defensive midfield and centre-back positions.