A section of Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have reacted with bemusement after the club reportedly agreed a fee for Manchester City wing-back Oleksandr Zinchenko.
According to trusted journalist Tim Nash, Wolves have agreed a £16million fee for the Ukrainian, made up of an initial £12million rising to £16million with add-ons. The potential deal would also break the club’s transfer record, beating the £15.8million signing of Ruben Neves last summer (Express & Star).
. @Wolves have agreed a £16m deal with @ManCity for left wing back Olegsandr Zinchenko. A fee of an initial £12m rising to £16m with add-ons is in place between the clubs.
— Tim Nash (@TimNash_1) July 5, 2018
The 21-year-old is an attacking midfielder but was converted into a wing-back last season, after Pep Guardiola endured an injury crisis in that position on their way to the Premier League title.
Some Wolves fans have been sharing their pessimism and general surprise about the news on social media.
This Is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets:
https://twitter.com/Mr_Sangha/status/1014986633475772417
https://twitter.com/Jamesssssss18/status/1015004455497027585
https://twitter.com/adamBriant1993/status/1014995970877161472
Not good enough for Pep despite making numerous appearances, allowed to go for as little as 12m when Foden can’t even leave on loan. Douglas doesn’t need upgrading, we don’t play a CAM. Wasteful signing Wolves fans? #WWFC #buyanotherstriker https://t.co/S9lUgHCoiQ
— David (@diogoalwwfc) July 5, 2018
Poor Baz. I’d have preferred us to get RWB sorted first
— Dave (@davidaehowell) July 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/Jamesssssss18/status/1015005867878617088
https://twitter.com/wwfc2018/status/1015109999910096896
OPINION
Oleksandr Zinchenko is a good young player, but he won’t be able to break into the Manchester City team next year, as they’ll probably strengthen in midfield once again. This proposed move could be good for him to play regular first-team football, but as he’s naturally an attacking midfielder, he will want to play in his preferred position and not be stuck at left wing-back like he was last season. For Wolves, the fact they’re only paying £16million for a 21-year-old who’s got great potential, is a cracking deal for them, wherever he ends up playing. He will only get better and the move to Molineux may be the start of a blossoming career.