Mourinho barges into race to sign €35m Arsenal star

Tom Weber

Updated: 10 Jan 2025 15:11 GMT
3 min read

Jose Mourinho is looking to beat his former club Inter to the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko, according to Turkish media.

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The Ukraine star has struggled for minutes at Arsenal this season, continuing the trend of his ever-decreasing importance to Mikel Arteta's side. A key man when he was signed for €35 million from Man City, the Gunners have gradually evolved beyond the need for Zinchenko.

Injuries have played their part in reducing the 28-year-old's game time and FootballTransfers already revealed in the summer that Arsenal were open to cashing in on Zinchenko at the right price.

No transfer materialised but it is clear that Zinchenko's time in north London is coming to an end. The versatile defender has only played one minute of Premier League football since returning from an injury, having been left on the bench by Arteta in two of Arsenal's past three games.

Fenerbahce enter race for Zinchenko

Transfer speculation surrounding Zinchenko has increased in recent days and Serie A champions Inter are said to be keen on him. However, Turkish outlet Fotospor now claims that Fenerbahce have now also entered the race.

Legendary manager Jose Mourinho is looking for a left-back after selling Ferdi Kadioglu to Brighton in the summer and off the back of Jayden Oosterwolde suffering a long-term injury.

So far, Fenerbahce are still 'probing' whether a move for the 28-year-old is feasible whereas Inter are already said to be in talks with the player's camp and could table a formal bid shortly.

Zinchenko is under contract until 2026, so Arsenal will need to sell sooner rather than later or risk losing him for nothing. Given his lack of minutes lately, it seems unlikely that he would be open to extending his contract at the Emirates.

It is not clear how much Arsenal are demanding for the Ukraine international at this stage.