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Cape Town - Juventus were reportedly knocked back in their attempt to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko in the off-season, after Manchester City slapped a £40 million price tag on the left-back.
It's understood the Serie A champions asked after the Ukraine international when also negotiating the £60 million transfer of Portugal defender Joao Cancelo to the Etihad, which saw Danilo move the other way as a £34 million makeweight.
Juve's director of football Fabio Paratici was keen for City to throw 22-year-old Zinchenko into the equation, but the Manchester giants responded with a firm 'no' and duly handed him a new five-year-deal worth £85 000-per-week.
The player has since been joined in Manchester by his fiancee, and City have made it clear they now value him way above the £1.8 million they paid to sign him from Russian minnows FC Ufa back in 2016.
Zinchenko's emergence with the Citizens is a real tale of perseverance and a determination to show Pep Guardiola he could fill the left-back void left by Benjamin Mendy's knee issues during the last two seasons.
He turned down a £17 million move to Wolverhampton Wanderers last year to fight for his place and City feel he will only continue to improve under Guardiola's watchful guidance during the next couple of years.
There are certainly times when Zinchenko can remind you he is still a winger by trade, linking up well with winger Raheem Sterling and making up another man in midfield when City are dominating the ball.
City insiders have also spoken of his outgoing nature and positive influence inside the dressing room, added to his excellent attitude to training, sometimes coming in on his days off to work-out on the treadmill.
That is the type of desire Guardiola likes to see from all his players and a hunger to show they can keep pushing themselves, rather than letting silverware go to their heads.
- TeamTalk Media
