Oleksandr Zinchenko has been a regular for Manchester City in 2021, but TuttoMercatoWeb say his long-term future may be in doubt. Pep Guardiola is reportedly planning to replace the 5ft 7in defender and is ‘trying to bring’ Robin Gosens to the Etihad Stadium.
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Gosens joined Atalanta BC from Heracles Almelo in 2017 and has gone on to make 135 appearances in all competitions, scoring 24 goals and supplying 18 assists (Transfermarkt).
The 26-year-old has been a regular under Gian Piero Gasperini this season, making 18 Serie A starts and having a hand in 12 goals, so it’s easy to see why City are keen.
Gosens has created 24 chances, whipped in 42 crosses with 29% finding a teammate, been dribbled past only once every 100 minutes, made 23 successful dribbles, blocked 36 shots/passes/crosses and averaged a tackle (30) or interception (31) every 26 minutes (WhoScored).
Zinchenko has made 18 appearances in all competitions (Transfermarkt) and is currently ahead of Benjamin Mendy in the pecking order, but TuttoMercatoWeb believe he’s still deemed expendable by the club.
The Ukrainian international is performing well at left-back and was praised by Guardiola in January for his development, but City do want a first-choice option to nail down a regular place and have been linked with Nicolas Tagliafico and David Alaba, so the link with Gosens makes sense.