Oleks Zinchenko - 2018/19 Performances

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Was very good tonight and whilst he did switch off for 15 mins in the second half he wasn’t alone in that.
Why we decided that we were better playing in our half than in there’s i have no idea. It created problems for half a dozen of our players.
 
2 mistakes in an otherwise immaculate display. He's making it tough for others to take his place. Well done on a lad with a great attitude.
 
He's beginning to look like a proper full back but his ability on the ball means he fits so well into Pep's full back role switching between wide & centre midfield as well as covering his defensive duties.

He could have left us in either of the last two summers and been a regular starter in a mid-table team - but so glad he believed in himself and that Pep had the confidence to keep him as a squad player - the result is that he is a much more rounded player than he would have been otherwise and that he has medals to show for it with perhaps more to come. Not sure he will ever be a regular starter for us - but we need players in the squad who will play his role and great to see the way he is developing.
 
His football ability is coming back & he is starting to produce the kind of passes he did in Holland.

Ithought he was borderline our best attacking midfield player at times first half.

His fullback ability, remains the same. He can get an occasional foot in, but loses most headers has no sense of danger at all & gets left stranded, with half a pitch of space behind him, by journeyman players, with no recovery pace.

His stamina has improved though, but not quite there yet; still starts to affect him as the game goes on, but a huge improvement on a year ago.

I don't see where he fits in the squad, if we sign more players though, unfortunately.
 
Neville Kneville said:
His football ability is coming back & he is starting to produce the kind of passes he did in Holland.

Ithought he was borderline our best attacking midfield player at times first half.

His fullback ability, remains the same. He can get an occasional foot in, but loses most headers has no sense of danger at all & gets left stranded, with half a pitch of space behind him, by journeyman players, with no recovery pace.

His stamina has improved though, but not quite there yet; still starts to affect him as the game goes on, but a huge improvement on a year ago.

I don't see where he fits in the squad, if we sign more players though, unfortunately.
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Good assessment, I tend to agree.
 
Zin's going to be a real head scratcher for Pep and the board. His talent is obvious and his performances at LB are getting better and better which each passing game. Still areas to improve, but he's really starting to take to the position. Top attitude to boot and clearly loves being at the club.

Do we take the chance and give him a real go at being our number 2 LB behind Mendy, or do we go ahead and sign another one this summer, knowing that it effectively puts an end to his career here? The former is a massive risk given what we saw with Delph this season vs last season, as an example.

It's such an unknown quantity because it all really relies on Mendy. If he can stay fit and perform, Zincheko and support from Danilo when needed is more than enough. We have the added bonus of Zinchenko being tactically flexible as well. But if Mendy's injuries continue and we're solely relying on Zinchenko, there's a good chance we find ourselves in a very difficult position again.

This isn't really a case of saying "keep Zinchenko and sign another LB anyway" because he's more than proved his ability to perform at the top level. He's not going to stay at the club being 3rd choice LB, 4th choice DM and 6th choice CM when he will have numerous good clubs chasing him. He will need assurances he will have a primary position and if that's LB, he will have to be number two behind Mendy, which will give him as a 22 year old ample game time and allow him to continue his development.

Big couple of months ahead of him. If he continues to stand out like he has done, I would be inclined to give him a shot instead of going down our usual route of spunking another 50m quid in what is already a fairly limited market for LBs. I'd love for Zinny to become our version of the Kimmich that Pep had at Bayern.
 
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