Zinchenko open to January move to Napoli, says his agent

Joe Williams

Oleksandr Zinchenko’s agent claims the Manchester City left-back would be open to a January transfer move to Napoli with Faouzi Ghoulam reportedly a target for Liverpool and Manchester United.

The Ukrainian was heavily linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium over the summer but remained at the club.

Zinchenko has only been played twice this season by Pep Guardiola and that was due to injuries to Benjamin Mendy and Fabian Delph and his agent Alan Prudnikov admits a move to Italy could be on the cards.

“We are always open to proposals coming from Italy,” Prudnikov told Radio Marte.

“Napoli showed interest both over the summer and the year before, but never managed to find an agreement with Manchester City.

“I met with [Napoli director Cristiano] Giuntoli and we laid down the foundations of a deal with Zinchenko, but the two clubs could not agree on a fee. We’d be ready to discuss it again, though.”

It’s clear from Prudnikov’s comments that if a fee could be agreed then Zinchenko could well by on his way to Napoli in the January market which could make sense as their current left-back Ghoulam could move to England.

Ghoulam had emerged as a possible target for both Liverpool and Manchester City in January, but has instead put pen to paper on an extension.

However, Naples-based Radio Kiss Kiss reported yesterday that Manchester United have launched a £40m bid to try land the Algeria international.

It is believed that Ghoulam is demanding over £100,000-a-week to move to Old Trafford despite currently earning less than half.

The outlet does go on to state though that Napoli have declined the bid, which is worth around €45million, but does not rule out another possible assault from the Red Devils.