Zinc in on the joke with doppelganger

ALEKS Zinchenko has admitted he sometimes gets in on the joke and actually pretends to be City team-mate Kevin de Bruyne.

The two stars look eerily similar and it’s a quirk that hasn’t been missed by other members of the dressing room, with Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, among others, never missing the chance to poke fun at their likeness.

However, Zinchenko says he can see the similarities and has revealed he sometimes uses it to joke with fans that spot him around Manchester.

“I’m used to it because when I’m getting out from the bus the people call: ‘Kevin, Kevin can you sign?’ then I turn and they go ‘oh **** ,’” the Ukrainian said. “Sometimes the people in the city when I’m walking around, sometimes someone can come, ‘can I have my picture with you?’ I say ‘of course it’s a pleasure.’

“And sometimes the others ‘oh you’re the football player, right?’ and say ‘yeah, yeah, what’s your surname?’ ‘I’m Kevin de Bruyne’ ‘Oh, Kevin de Bruyne!’

“So I can joke with them. To be honest, when he’s sitting in front of me we do look the same, maybe from afar.”

While the pair may share a likeness they are having different seasons. The Belgian has been City’s stand out player, scoring seven and racking up 18 assists, Zinchenko however has struggled for game time since suffering a knee injury.