Manchester City to reward Oleksandr Zinchenko with new contract after Pep Guardiola converts him to a full-back
Ukrainian, 21, will get bumper new deal worth more than £50,000-a-week
MANCHESTER CITY are set to reward Oleksandr Zinchenko with a fresh contract.
The 21-year-old has impressed at left-back this season after Pep Guardiola converted him from a winger.
And the Ukrainian will get fresh terms to reflect his importance to Man City chasing the Quadruple with him filling in for crocked Benjamin Mendy.
Zinchenko, 21, will smash through the £50,000-a-week barrier to improve his current deal that expires in 2021.
He arrived at the Etihad two years ago after going to the Euros with Ukraine.
And Pep started working on him as a full-back in pre-season after years playing in midfield.
"It started directly when I came back from PSV and from first training session,"; Zinchenko said.
"Before that I played in this position a few times, around five to seven games.
"I was mainly in midfield but now I think I can play everywhere."
Meanwhile, former City star Mario Balotelli will be given an escape route from his racism hell.
The Nice striker, 27, has AC Milan and Inter Milan interested in bringing him back to the San Siro in the summer.
He was booked against Dijon by Nicolas Rainville for complaining about racist chants.
The French Football League are investigating and anti-discriminatory body Football Against Racism in Europe insist he ‘should be given added protection’ rather than receiving yellow cards.