Manchester City they are now closing in on the rapid signing of a new star for Pep Guardiola, with the club offering £41m+ to bring in their man this winter.
Manchester City are struggling
First time since then Pep Guardiola coming to the club, ruling Premier League champion Manchester City is in a serious phase of form.
They have recorded back-to-back wins in their last two Premier League away games (against West Ham and Leicester City), but before that they had won just one of their previous 13 games in all competitions, including the defeats that dumped them out of the Carabao Cup, left-wing on the brink of Champions League qualification and are 12 points off the pace in the Premier League after playing a game more than leaders Liverpool.
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The unprecedented streak seems to have stabilized somewhat in recent weeks, but the Cityzens are expected to remain active in the January transfer window strengthen their ranks and inject fresh energy into their squad, which has looked depleted for most of the season to date.
Rodri’s knee injury forced them to target a midfielder, like him Martin Zubimendi, Douglas Luiz and Nicolo Rovella all associated as an Etihad outfit looking to strengthen their options in the middle of the park. Now Guardiola’s team could be closing in on a signing that would provide welcome support in the other part of the pitch.
Man City sent an offer for the defender
It comes after Sky Reporter Patrick Berger revealed that the Cityzens are “on the verge” of signing RC Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov this January. City “submitted an official offer” worth “50 million euros including bonuses” [£41.6m] to sign the 20-year-old defender, and the player himself wants to move to Manchester in the coming weeks.
Indeed, Guardiola’s side have even gone so far as to already offer him a “long-term” contract, suggesting that the deal is almost done. Signed by Lens just 18 months ago, the centre-back has quickly become a household name in France, alongside team-mate Brice Samba calling him a “monster” player earlier in the campaign.
Still football analysts disagree on his potential readiness for immediate Premier League action, one thing no one can deny is his sheer speed. The Uzbek defender clocked a top speed of 37km/h earlier in the season when running back to stop a counter-attack.
This makes him even faster than Man City speedster Erling Haaland, who was achieved earlier in the campaign with a top speed of 35.7 km/hwhile he is not far from the Premier League record speed of 37.38 km/h set by Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven last season.
With Manchester City looking leggy this season, he is sure to bring energy and recovery speed to Guardiola’s backline, something they have sorely missed as a result of Kyle Walker’s rapid decline in recent months. Have the Blues just found their next defensive player?
