Manchester City are busy this January with Pep Guardiola looking to the winter transfer window as a possible way to save his team’s season after a disastrous run of form which has effectively ended their English Premier League title hopes and jeopardized their UEFA Champions League status. Palmeiras’ Vitor Reis and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush are reportedly two of the defending EPL titleholders’ targets of interest this month but the third is a relatively unknown defender based in France who has suddenly cropped up on the radar of a number of top European clubs.
Abdukodir Khusanov of RC Lens is expected to join City for around $51 million before the end of the January window as the Northern France outfit continue to sell of their top talents in an effort to combat their substantial financial concerns. The Uzbekistan international, who was on his way to England on Thursday to sign, per Fabrizio Romano, has been something of an overnight success with Les Sang et Or having only arrived back in 2023 before becoming a regular starter under Will Still this season with the Englishman opting to move on from some of the stalwarts who starred under Franck Haise.
Khusanov, who is currently awaiting a visa for his proposed move to England, is still only 20 years old yet is already an established international for the White Wolves who regard the Tashkent native as one of their bright soccer hopes for the future. So, where did he come from and why has his rise been so sudden? Khusanov arrived in Lens via Belarusian side Energetik-BGU Minsk having started his career with Bunyodkor who put themselves on the world soccer map back in 2008 with the signing of Brazilian legend Rivaldo.
A brief spell in Lens’ reserves upon his arrival in the summer of 2023, the uncompromising defender who will turn 21 next month spent the remaining six months of the year bleeding into the first team under Haise which included an appearance in a 6-0 UCL loss away at Arsenal aged just 19. RCL were unable to build on that Champions League foray and crashed out unexpectedly early in this season’s UEFA Conference League which denied Khusanov the chance to regularly experience European starts given that he has become a regular starter under Still ahead of Jonathan Gradit.
“I knew that in coming here to replace Franck and the club’s financial requirements that it was not going to be easy,” admitted Still in a recent press conference. “I knew that important players were going to leave and although we did not necessarily expect Brice and Abdukodir to go right now and together in winter, I did know that we were going to have gaps to fill. I knew that it would not be perfect but we are a few points off the teams ahead of us in seventh and we have been able to bring in an attacker (Goduine Koyalipou) as we have not been efficient enough in front of goal.”
That Khusanov parallels with Josko Gvardiol in being one of the brightest potential defensive talents of his generation is undeniable although the Croatia international was more polished when he arrived at Etihad Stadium having played with RB Leipzig for two years including regular UCL action. City bringing in the likes of Khusanov and Vitor Reis now is a big bet on the future despite their very immediate difficulties which neither player will automatically solve but it is also smart timing given Lens’ financial issues and the Uzbek’s potential asking price in a different climate.
Lens are in the process of selling off key assets with France international goalkeeper Brice Samba having already gone to Stade Rennais and Kevin Danso likely to leave with Olympique de Marseille keen despite the Austrian defender having seen a summer move to AS Roma collapse. The French outfit’s loss will be the English champions’ gain but expectations must be tempered given that Khusanov is still developing and will likely need time to not only adapt to a new country and level of expectation with City but also establish his current level compared with his new teammates and how soon he will be expected to reach a similar level.
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