Vincent Kompany could now raid Arsenal to secure his first transfer as the new head coach of Bayern Munich after leaving Burnley to replace Thomas Tuchel in Germany.
Der FCB confirmed the appointment of Kompany as the Bundesliga team’s latest head coach on Wednesday after a lengthy search. Several possible candidates to replace Tuchel opted to reject taking charge at the Allianz Arena after initially declaring his departure in February.
Kompany moves to Bayern Munich fresh after enduring relegation from the Premier League with Burnley during the 2023/24 season. The Clarets finished the term in 19th place with 24 defeats in 38 games. Arsenal dealt Kompany’s Burnley 3-1 and 5-0 defeats in their meetings.
Bayern Munich eye Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko after appointing Vincent Kompany
But after Bayern Munich paid Burnley around £10m to snare Kompany, Der FCB might return to England to raid Arsenal and target a transfer for Oleksandr Zinchenko. That is according to the Mirror, which notes that the Bavarian powerhouse are watching developments closely.
Zinchenko could potentially leave Emirates Stadium in the off-season after falling down their pecking order for Mikel Arteta this term. Injuries and inconsistent form meant the 27-year-old started in 20 of his 27 Premier League appearances from an available 32 games in 23/24.
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Arteta also ended the season by only fielding Zinchenko for a combined 49 minutes through two appearances in Arsenal’s final six matches. He was a late substitute against Chelsea and Everton, whilst the Gunners leaned on Takehiro Tomiyasu to start out of his natural position.
Mikel Arteta lost faith in Oleksandr Zinchenko but Vincent Kompany is a big fan
A starting position in Arsenal’s defence became Tomiyasu’s to lose as Zinchenko failed to maintain his form all term. Some Arsenal fans booed Zinchenko for the 60-cap Ukraine star’s disappointing display in his last start against Aston Villa when the Gunners lost 2-0 at home.
Aston Villa’s visit to north London also marked the final time that Zinchenko would start in a Premier League game. The Gunners’ 1-0 loss at Villa Park in December also saw Tony Adams brand Zinchenko a ‘complete weakness’. Now, Arteta is also looking for a likely replacement.
Reports by Milliyet (p16, 26/5) claim that Fenerbahce left-back Ferdi Kadioglu has agreed to personal terms with Arsenal. So, Arteta may be receptive to offloading Zinchenko, who Gary Neville called a ‘liability’ against Liverpool in December, likely to Kompany’s delight, as well.
“Zinchenko is a good example,” Kompany said about his former Manchester City teammate in November, via quotes by the Burnley Express. “Behind the scenes what people didn’t see was that he was one of the most relentless [and] hard-working players I’ve ever played with.
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“When you bring that to the table, it becomes really difficult to know where you’re going to end up because there’s no limit. If you have that kind of workrate, you will see people off.
“To see him now, what has he won, the Premier League four of five times? To become a leader in a new club somewhere else, for what other people said about him at the start of his career, I can only use him as an example for a lot of players that we have.”