Oleksandr Zinchenko is on the verge of completing a permanent move to Ajax, bringing his time at Arsenal to a close. The Ukrainian international is traveling to Amsterdam this Friday (Jan 30) to finalize a deal worth an initial €1.5 million (approx. £1.3m ), according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The agreement includes performance-based add-ons specifically linked to Ajax’s future Champions League qualification. This move effectively terminates Zinchenko’s season-long loan at Nottingham Forest early, where he struggled to find consistent minutes under the Garibaldi lights.
The End of the North London Chapter
Zinchenko arrived at the Emirates in 2022 from Manchester City for a fee of £35 million. While he was a pivotal figure in the 2022/23 title charge, providing tactical flexibility as an inverted full-back, his role diminished significantly over the last 18 months.
The rise of Riccardo Calafiori, the consistency of Takehiro Tomiyasu, and the emergence of academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly pushed the 29-year-old down Mikel Arteta’s pecking order.
“The Worst Season of My Career”
The emotional weight of this decline was captured in Zinchenko’s recent autobiography. In a poignant passage, he described his lack of game time as a “rejection” that felt personal.
“Going from an established player to an unused reserve is very difficult,” he wrote. “The sense that the manager no longer believes in you can take the stuffing out of you.”
Why Ajax?
For Ajax, securing a player of Zinchenko’s experience for such a low fee represents a masterstroke in the January window. The Dutch giants are looking for leadership and technical quality in their backline as they push for a return to Europe’s elite. For Zinchenko, it is a chance to rediscover the “smile on his face” in a league that values his elite ball-retention skills.
James Horan is a football writer focused on the Premier League transfer market, covering confirmed signings, transfer rumors, and club strategies during the transfer windows.
