Wolves have suffered a major blow on transfer deadline day as their £16m move for Man City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko is off, according to a reliable journalist.
Tim Nash, a prominent Wolves journalist, has claimed that Zinchenko himself has turned down the opportunity to play for the Premier League new boys despite a £16million fee being agreed.
A medical had been scheduled at Compton this morning.
Hearing the Zinchenko deal is OFF as the player has turned down the chance to join @Wolves, according to sources in Manchester. A £16m fee had been agreed several weeks ago and a medical had been arranged at Compton this morning.
— Tim Nash (@TimNash_1) August 9, 2018
OPINION
Wolves have had a fine summer and fans will be eagerly anticipating the start of a new season, with the top half of the table in mind rather than the usual safety-first approach. However, this is a significant blow for the Midlands side. This deal looked like it was all but done with a fee agreed and a medical scheduled. Something must have happened to spook the Man City midfielder who has already broken through into their senior team. There’s no details as to why he’s turned down the move, but it does appear that it was the player’s choice. The bottom line is that Wolves fans won’t want anyone at the club who doesn’t want to be there, so maybe this is a bullet dodged. The future for Zinchenko seems unclear though. He’s not good enough to trouble the Man City starting XI without major injuries, but he obviously thinks he could force his way into Pep Guradiola’s thinking. Unless another club has come along at the last minute, of course.