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MANCHESTER CITY have confirmed the signing of 20-year-old defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
The rising star joins in a deal understood to be worth £34million – and he will become the first Uzbek to play in the Premier League.
X/ ManCity
The defender put pen to paper on a deal until 2029X/ ManCity
GettyKhusanov, 20, has enjoyed a stellar season in Ligue 1 and arrives at the Etihad to bolster Pep Guardiola’s back line.
He put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year contract with City until 2029.
The new No45 said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester City, a club that I have enjoyed watching for a long time.
“This squad is full of the best players in the world, and I can’t wait to meet them and play alongside them.
“And of course Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest coaches ever and I am so excited to learn from him and improve my game even more.
“This is a very proud moment for me and my family to be joining a great club like Manchester City and I’m more than ready for this challenge.”
Director of Football Txiki Begiristain added: “We are very happy that he has joined us and we are all very excited about what he will bring.
“For such a young defender, Abdukodir is already very intelligent, as well as being strong, aggressive and extremely quick.
“Working with Pep will only make him better and, speaking to him, he is determined to keep improving.
“He is a really exciting signing as we aim to keep progressing to maintain one of the best squads in Europe.”
Khusanov left his homeland aged 18 to join Belarusian club Energetik-BGU in 2022.
Less than 18 months later, he signed for Lens in July 2023 for £84,000 – and has now moved on for 400 TIMES that figure, having only established himself as a first-team regular starter this season.
Under Will Still’s management, the defender has shone as an aggressive centre-back – prompting his gaffer to declare: “Kodir is a tank.”
A physical specimen, he is tall, powerful, strong and lightning quick.
In fact, his top speed of 37km/h this season is only just shy of the 37.58km/h pace Usain Bolt averaged to set the 100m world record.
He is not the best with the ball at his feet, does have a distinct lack of experience – just 24 Ligue 1 appearances and two in the Champions League – and the language could be a barrier as he settles into a new side desperate for him to hit the ground running.
City – who have somewhat stopped the rot with a 6-0 thumping at Ipswich to go five unbeaten in the Premier League – find themselves 12 points adrift of leaders Liverpool and seemingly well out of the title race.
They are still in the FA Cup, though, and will hope to scrape through into the play-off round of the Champions League.
And Khusanov may not have to wait long to be thrown into the deep end, with City facing PSG and Chelsea this week.
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AFP
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