Manchester City were recently been credited with an interest in Atletico Madrid left-back Renan Lodi by the Daily Mail, and if he were to sign it could be bad news for Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Bad news for Zinchenko?

Whilst Guardiola might be worried by Mendy's consistency, his injury issues since joining City perhaps mean that it's unlikely any team will try and sign the French international, meaning it could well be Zinchenko who is axed should Lodi make the move to the Etihad.

The Ukrainian has found himself on the fringes of the City squad so far this season, with Guardiola preferring Nathan Ake or Joao Cancelo at left-back, although he has made a couple of appearances recently, due to the Citizens being affected by the current viral outbreak.

Since joining the club in 2016, the converted left-back has gone on to make 76 appearances, contributing two goals and six assists, suggesting that he has never really been able to cement his place as first-choice at City.

Lodi, meanwhile, has quickly established himself as a regular under Diego Simeone at Atletico following his arrival in 2019, with 60 first-team appearances for the Spanish club to his name.

The £36 million-rated left-back has earned a lot of plaudits following his performances with Atletico and after making his first appearance for Brazil in 2019, The Sun were quick to dub him as 'the new Marcelo'.

The Real Madrid man has consistently been one of the best left-backs in world football for the past decade, having made 516 appearances for Los Blancos, helping them to win five La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies.

Therefore, if Lodi could emulate the sort of career the 32-year-old has had, then he would surely prove to be an exceptional signing for Manchester City, so sporting director Txiki Begiristain should do everything he can to bring him to the Etihad, either this month or in the summer.

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