Oleksandr Zinchenko could now leave Arsenal permanently this month

Oleksandr Zinchenko could now leave Arsenal on a permanent basis this month after Ajax proposed a change to the structure of an initial loan deal, according to Ben Jacobs.

The Ukrainian is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest, but after a failed spell in the East Midlands, he is expected to return to north London before heading straight back out to Amsterdam.

The defender has been out of favour at Emirates Stadium for a number of years and there was always a likelihood he would be shipped off this year, but it may come as a surprise to some that he could actually be making a permanent move away this month.

Oleksandr Zinchenko could now leave Arsenal permanently this month

When he first joined the Gunners in summer 2022, Zinchenko became a crucial player in Mikel Arteta's setup and was a primary factor in the system switch that saw the Spaniard start utilising inverted full backs.

While his attacking ability helped him keep previous first choice Kieran Tierney at bay, his defensive capabilities and inconsistent fitness let him down too often, leading to him becoming a mere squad player in recent seasons.

He did prove useful for some time, but the introduction of Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly to the squad pushed him out even further, ultimately leading to his loan to Nottingham Forest on deadline day of the summer transfer window.

His time at the City Ground was far from headline worthy as he was limited to just 10 appearances in all competitions, with five of those coming in the Premier League, and after holding talks with Sean Dyche over his Forest future, he looks certain to be leaving for pastures new.

There was no way Zinchenko was ever going to get back into the Arsenal squad upon his return from Forest so the smartest plan seemed to loan him back out. That's where Ajax come in.

Sat third in the Eredivisie and 18 points behind league leaders PSV Eindhoven, the Dutch giants have been moving forward with a loan deal to sign the Ukrainian until the end of the season, but they now want to bring him to the Johan Cruyff Arena permanently.

Upon revealing this news, Ben Jacobs said all parties are confident such a deal will get done before the closure of the window and it makes sense for Arsenal to agree to these terms. As stated, he was never going to find his way back into the team and with his contract set to expire in the summer, a winter transfer works well.

The Gunners have frequently loaned players out before eventually allowing them to leave for next to nothing on far too many occasions and while they are only reported to be receiving a small fee for Zinchenko, that prevents the same from happening with him.