Angelino

[JimmyNJ]

I would bet Mendy has to earn his spot in the 1st team. Two seasons of off the field antics and injuries don't get you an automatic spot in a Pep team, I'm sorry. For me Zinchenko starts since most of the games we play we dominate possession and he is clearly the best LB we have when we are holding the ball and trying to break through a bus. Angelino looks more similar to Mendy in that he's a wide crosser. Maybe they battle it out for the #2 in a more open games. Will be interesting. Nice to have solid depth though. Angelino as a home grown and cheap is a great idea by Txiki and Co..

 

[aguero93:20]

I would bet Mendy has to earn his spot in the 1st team. Two seasons of off the field antics and injuries don't get you an automatic spot in a Pep team, I'm sorry. For me Zinchenko starts since most of the games we play we dominate possession and he is clearly the best LB we have when we are holding the ball and trying to break through a bus. Angelino looks more similar to Mendy in that he's a wide crosser. Maybe they battle it out for the #2 in a more open games. Will be interesting. Nice to have solid depth though. Angelino as a home grown and cheap is a great idea by Txiki and Co..

If Mendy ever does sort out his injuries, Zinchenko would be able to fill in as a midfielder and Angelino could also cover Sané's role.

 

[nmc]

If Mendy ever does sort out his injuries, Zinchenko would be able to fill in as a midfielder and Angelino could also cover Sané's role.

Big if for Mendy, I think he’ll be gone next summer if he doesn’t get himself fit this season.

 

[Ederson's smiley tattoo]

If Mendy can stay healthy and in form he will always be our number one. The recency bias is strong, we saw how good he was in the beginning of the season when he got 5 assists in like 10 games. Angelino will be Mendys main threat and he's also better than Zinchenko at LB. Zinchenko is a fine footballer and will probably start when we're looking to control the game with high posession

 

[Totaal_Voetbal]

I would bet Mendy has to earn his spot in the 1st team. Two seasons of off the field antics and injuries don't get you an automatic spot in a Pep team, I'm sorry. For me Zinchenko starts since most of the games we play we dominate possession and he is clearly the best LB we have when we are holding the ball and trying to break through a bus. Angelino looks more similar to Mendy in that he's a wide crosser. Maybe they battle it out for the #2 in a more open games. Will be interesting. Nice to have solid depth though. Angelino as a home grown and cheap is a great idea by Txiki and Co..

You can definitely see what Zinchenko has brought to this team. As you say we dominate the ball more when he's in the team. Fantastic player.

 

[NorthamptonBlue]

Big if for Mendy, I think he’ll be gone next summer if he doesn’t get himself fit this season.

If anybody would buy him given his injury record. Would you?

 

[leo_city]

If anybody would buy him given his injury record. Would you?

Something tells me the Angeliño risk is calculated to the point where Mendy will be put on market next summer even if he is fit for season.

 

[NorthamptonBlue]

Something tells me the Angeliño risk is calculated to the point where Mendy will be put on market next summer even if he is fit for season.

It wouldn’t surprise me if you are right. It’s just the ‘fit for season’ bit that worries me.

 

[ninjamonkey]

For everybody that’s so certain zinchenko will move to midfield, how many games do you expect he will actually get there?

We’re buying an extra midfielder for next season without losing one. Last season We had gundogan not getting enough games to the point he wasn’t prepared to commit to staying here, kdb spent the vast majority of the season injured, Bernardo was playing out wide for the majority of it despite him being better in the middle and foden will be looking to get more games. Sure, Fernandinho and silva will likely get less games but the bulk of that will be eaten up by Rodri and the rest from the players mentioned above getting more games.

There will be very little, if any opportunities for zinchenko in the middle unless we have a colossal amount of injuries. Zinchenko might get a few games in there but he will be almost exclusively a left back. Angelino will likely play the zinchenko squad role of two seasons ago filling in where needed offering an option when mendy is unavailable and possibly elsewhere too and his long term future will likely depend on how mendy gets on this season.

 

[Neville Kneville]

For everybody that’s so certain zinchenko will move to midfield, how many games do you expect he will actually get there?

We’re buying an extra midfielder for next season without losing one. Last season We had gundogan not getting enough games to the point he wasn’t prepared to commit to staying here, kdb spent the vast majority of the season injured, Bernardo was playing out wide for the majority of it despite him being better in the middle and foden will be looking to get more games. Sure, Fernandinho and silva will likely get less games but the bulk of that will be eaten up by Rodri and the rest from the players mentioned above getting more games.

There will be very little, if any opportunities for zinchenko in the middle unless we have a colossal amount of injuries. Zinchenko might get a few games in there but he will be almost exclusively a left back. Angelino will likely play the zinchenko squad role of two seasons ago filling in where needed offering an option when mendy is unavailable and possibly elsewhere too and his long term future will likely depend on how mendy gets on this season.

Depends on how Mendy & Angelino play.

Both tend to be more dangerous from wide, attacking.

 

[Gabriel]

For everybody that’s so certain zinchenko will move to midfield, how many games do you expect he will actually get there?

We’re buying an extra midfielder for next season without losing one. Last season We had gundogan not getting enough games to the point he wasn’t prepared to commit to staying here, kdb spent the vast majority of the season injured, Bernardo was playing out wide for the majority of it despite him being better in the middle and foden will be looking to get more games. Sure, Fernandinho and silva will likely get less games but the bulk of that will be eaten up by Rodri and the rest from the players mentioned above getting more games.

There will be very little, if any opportunities for zinchenko in the middle unless we have a colossal amount of injuries. Zinchenko might get a few games in there but he will be almost exclusively a left back. Angelino will likely play the zinchenko squad role of two seasons ago filling in where needed offering an option when mendy is unavailable and possibly elsewhere too and his long term future will likely depend on how mendy gets on this season.

Good points, but we will have injuries albeit hopefully fewer if we rotate more. Also have to plan for life after Fernandinho, Silva, and perhaps Gundogan as well.

 

[schfc6]

For everybody that’s so certain zinchenko will move to midfield, how many games do you expect he will actually get there?

We’re buying an extra midfielder for next season without losing one. Last season We had gundogan not getting enough games to the point he wasn’t prepared to commit to staying here, kdb spent the vast majority of the season injured, Bernardo was playing out wide for the majority of it despite him being better in the middle and foden will be looking to get more games. Sure, Fernandinho and silva will likely get less games but the bulk of that will be eaten up by Rodri and the rest from the players mentioned above getting more games.

There will be very little, if any opportunities for zinchenko in the middle unless we have a colossal amount of injuries. Zinchenko might get a few games in there but he will be almost exclusively a left back. Angelino will likely play the zinchenko squad role of two seasons ago filling in where needed offering an option when mendy is unavailable and possibly elsewhere too and his long term future will likely depend on how mendy gets on this season.

No problem with any of that. But we could lose Fernandinho, Silva & Gundogan all for free next summer. If Angelino is this cheap, it gives us a free hit at giving Mandy 1 more year.
High quality 'squad' players are hard to come by. Zinchencko could comfortably fit in anywhere.

 

[BlueAnorak]

Great news if this story is true.

 

[Dax777]

If Mendy can stay healthy and in form he will always be our number one. The recency bias is strong, we saw how good he was in the beginning of the season when he got 5 assists in like 10 games. Angelino will be Mendys main threat and he's also better than Zinchenko at LB. Zinchenko is a fine footballer and will probably start when we're looking to control the game with high posession

I'd rather let the competition decide who plays rather than prejudging. Whoever emerges would then be fantastic having come through such fierce competition.

 

[Dax777]

For everybody that’s so certain zinchenko will move to midfield, how many games do you expect he will actually get there?

We’re buying an extra midfielder for next season without losing one. Last season We had gundogan not getting enough games to the point he wasn’t prepared to commit to staying here, kdb spent the vast majority of the season injured, Bernardo was playing out wide for the majority of it despite him being better in the middle and foden will be looking to get more games. Sure, Fernandinho and silva will likely get less games but the bulk of that will be eaten up by Rodri and the rest from the players mentioned above getting more games.

There will be very little, if any opportunities for zinchenko in the middle unless we have a colossal amount of injuries. Zinchenko might get a few games in there but he will be almost exclusively a left back. Angelino will likely play the zinchenko squad role of two seasons ago filling in where needed offering an option when mendy is unavailable and possibly elsewhere too and his long term future will likely depend on how mendy gets on this season.

It's a false claim people make to justify moving him out if LB. The "Zinchencko can get games at other positions" is always good for a chuckle. Personally, I think he'll mostly play at LB here. If he is deployed in Midfield, it almost means we've been hit badly with lots of injuries. Not a consequence any fan should be hoping for.

 

[come-on-barney]

It's a false claim people make to justify moving him out if LB. The "Zinchencko can get games at other positions" is always good for a chuckle. Personally, I think he'll mostly play at LB here. If he is deployed in Midfield, it almost means we've been hit badly with lots of injuries. Not a consequence any fan should be hoping for.

You mean like the Pre-match thread versus Chelsea where everyone wrote Zinny off playing left back. That turned out well. You not seen him play in midfield. Trust Zinny to play in any position when required.

 

[ninjamonkey]

No problem with any of that. But we could lose Fernandinho, Silva & Gundogan all for free next summer. If Angelino is this cheap, it gives us a free hit at giving Mandy 1 more year.
High quality 'squad' players are hard to come by. Zinchencko could comfortably fit in anywhere.

Absolutely. I wasn’t suggesting we don’t bring him in, it’s a no lose situation with his price and his club trained status so long as Angelino knows he’s in for a fight and there’s a chance he won’t be playing much. I think we will deal with having 3 left backs this season to accommodate Mendys situation and then next summer a decision will be made on who goes depending on their performances over the season.

With regards to people leaving next summer, you’re right, we will have a lot of work to do next summer and he may very well end up there in the future, particularly if we get a transfer ban, but for next season at least he will be a left back and almost exclusively a left back.

You mean like the Pre-match thread versus Chelsea where everyone wrote Zinny off playing left back. That turned out well. You not seen him play in midfield. Trust Zinny to play in any position when required.

We didn’t have a left back, we are soon to have 7 natural players for the 3 midfield positions. Whether you think he’s good enough to play there or not isn’t really the point. It’s less about zinchenko’s ability and more about numbers.

 

[ctid1894]

It's a false claim people make to justify moving him out if LB. The "Zinchencko can get games at other positions" is always good for a chuckle. Personally, I think he'll mostly play at LB here. If he is deployed in Midfield, it almost means we've been hit badly with lots of injuries. Not a consequence any fan should be hoping for.

I do understand the reasoning behind why you think Zinchenko will very rarely play in midfield, especially with the competition we’ve got in those positions. However I do think it’s kind of silly to write off the lad after last season, being on the verge of a £16m move to Wolves to becoming an integral part in a treble winning team. Now I know if Mendy has been completely fit he possibly wouldn’t have even got that chance but the new 5/6 year contract shows how much trust the club have in Zinchenko, even with Angelino hopefully coming back. I really do think he could compete for a first team place, if the likes of De Bruyne, Bernardo, Silva and Foden aren’t on form then I’d have absolutely no problems playing him in midfield against anyone.

 

[7evens]

Pep knows what he's doing and Zinchenko will be a part of the squad next season, regardless of where he plays. Can't we just sit back and let things happen?

 

[Topbins]

It's a false claim people make to justify moving him out if LB. The "Zinchencko can get games at other positions" is always good for a chuckle. Personally, I think he'll mostly play at LB here. If he is deployed in Midfield, it almost means we've been hit badly with lots of injuries. Not a consequence any fan should be hoping for.

The odd thing is that at certain phases of the ganmne he plays there for long periods However he won't start and or play exclusively in midfield. He could probably play very well there but as was said earlier City are stacked up for midfielders. He won't play there.