Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid hold initial talks with Arsenal utility man Oleksandr Zinchenko regarding a potential transfer.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is keen on parting ways with Arsenal this summer and there are few top clubs who are interested in his services. According to a report from CaughtOffside, the former Manchester City star is on Atletico Madrid’s wishlist and he has held positive initial talks with the Spanish giants.

Zinchenko made a name for himself while playing for Pep Guardiola’s team before joining the Gunners in the summer of 2022. While he did have an impressive start to life in North London, the 28-year-old couldn’t live up to the expectations in the long run.

Midway through his second season, he slowly started going down the pecking order. The Ukrainian international spent the majority of last season sitting on the bench. He was involved in just 23 games and racked up less than 800 minutes of first-team action.

Simeone wants Zinchenko?

Atletico Madrid are one of the clubs that are keen on signing him. Diego Simeone’s team are in desperate need of signing a new left-back as Reinildo Mandava is set to leave the club at the end of the month. They want to bring in an ideal replacement and Zinchenko is one of the names on their shortlist.

He has already held talks with Atletico over a potential move. While the initial conversations have been positive, nothing is concrete yet as the two clubs are yet to open negotiations. However, if further discussions between the player and the Spanish club progress well, a deal could advance quickly.

A lot will depend on how things progress with the La Liga giants’ other left-back targets. Zinchenko looks set for a move away and there is certainly a lot of interest in him as clubs from Italy have also been linked with him.