Arsenal transfer ‘preference’ snubbed as £32m Gunner ‘considers seeing out contract’
Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko is reportedly considering leaving the club on a free transfer when his contract expires next year.
Zinchenko joined Arsenal from Manchester City for £30million plus £2m in add-ons in the 2022 summer transfer window and is out of contract at the end of the season.
That means he is free to discuss a pre-contract with foreign clubs from January, but Mikel Arteta’s side are hopeful of selling him this month.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce have been linked with the Ukrainian international this week and would need to pay around £12million to land him before the transfer deadline on September 1.
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Arteta has plenty of left-back options and has added versatile defender Cristhian Mosquera this summer, so minutes will be hard to come by for Zinchenko in 2025/26.
Despite this, the former City player is willing to wait it out and leave the Emirates for nothing next summer, which goes against what Arsenal would ‘prefer’.
This is according to The Athletic correspondent James McNicholas, who says Zinchenko is ‘available to leave’.
McNicholas wrote: ‘Oleksandr Zinchenko is also available to leave before the deadline, although the Ukraine international is considering seeing out the final year of his Arsenal contract and moving on a free transfer in 2026.
‘Arsenal, naturally, would prefer a sale in this window.’
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On further Arsenal sales, McNicholas says Fabio Vieira, Karl Hein, Sambi Lokonga and Reiss Nelson are free to leave after spending last season out on loan.
In all four cases, the Gunners ‘favour a permanent deal’.
Meanwhile, Jakub Kiwior has plenty of interest and is ‘open to leaving for a club where he can be a regular starter’.
Arteta is a big fan of the ex-Spezia centre-back and the Londoners ‘are in no rush to sell’, while no interested club has met their asking price.
Arsenal have made six first-team signings so far this summer, bringing in Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres.
They’ve spent just under £200m in total, trailing only Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea for most money spent this summer.
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