Oleksandr Zinchenko's Unexpected Breakthrough

“Zinchenko is talented, but he must be realistic. He must get the experience and game practice. He can only play for Manchester City on his Playstation”.

Former Liverpool and Ukraine striker Andriy Voronin said these words about Manchester City’s attacking midfielder turned left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, who is flourishing with regular appearances for Pep Guardiola’s high-flying league leaders.

Voronin wasn’t the only one to write Zinchenko’s chances at City off, however. The young Ukrainian was sent to PSV Eindhoven almost immediately after signing for City for £1.5m from FC Ufa in Russia, and struggled for game time, registering just 493 minutes in the Eredvisie, and thus found himself playing for reserve side Jong PSV. Following this, many fans thought it was time to move on for Zinchenko, and that he would never make it at a top level.

Despite this, injuries to Benjamin Mendy and subsequently Fabian Delph left Pep Guardiola with a problem at left back, and it is testament to Zinchenko’s ability that Pep has instilled his trust in him over Champions League winner and Danilo on a number of occasions.