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According to Calciomercato, Barcelona have opened talks to sign Manchester City left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Catalan giants are reportedly interested in signing the defender on a one-year loan deal.
Barcelona are looking to revamp their squad this summer, having sold the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Luis Suarez and Arthur Melo. However, one position that is sealed at the club is the left-back position.
Jordi Alba joined Barcelona in 2012 and has since made the left-back spot his own at the club. Alba made 224 league appearances for the Blaugrana and 70 appearances for Spain while establishing himself as one of the best left-backs in the world.
Barcelona, however, lack any cover for Jordi Alba in case the Spaniard gets injured or they decide to rest him. They, therefore, see Oleksandr Zinchenko as the ideal back-up option for Alba.
Barcelona are looking to sign Ukrainian left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko on loan from Manchester City
Oleksandr Zinchenko has fallen out of favour at Manchester City after failing to impress at the left-back position. He has had to resort of a permanent place on the bench as Pep Guardiola prefers to play Benjamin Mendy in the position.
With Jordi Alba entering his thirties, a switch to Barcelona makes sense for Oleksandr Zinchenko, who will be seeking regular playing time. At the age of 23, Zinchenko still has a lot of time to develop and may be the type of player Barcelona can initially sign on loan before acquiring him permanently at the end of the season, if they believe he has a bright future at the club.
Barcelona have had a quiet transfer window in terms of incoming players, with newly-appointed manager Ronald Koeman focusing on selling fringe players and players who he feels do not have a future at the club.
Koeman is trying to raise funds through transfers to help Barcelona come through this difficult financial situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He is also reportedly looking to sign fellow Dutchmen, Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum from Lyon and Liverpool respectively but has failed to progress in negotiations.
Barcelona have also been linked with the signing of a new right-back after sanctioning the sale of Nelson Semedo to Wolves last week. However, they will now focus on signing Oleksandr Zinchenko, who will provide them with another option in defence.
