Manchester City have reportedly entered a competitive race to land centre-back Lens Abdukodir Khusanov, competing with Premier League rivals Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Khusanov is only 20 years old, but he has already collected 18 senior caps for the Uzbekistan national team. The latest obscure talent to be caught by Lens’ extensive scouting system, the right-footed defender moved to the French side in the summer of 2023.
After joining the lineup in Franck Haise’s last term, Khusanov has become a permanent part of Lens’s background since highly rated English coach Will Still took over in the summer.
Comfortable in the back three or four, the Uzbekistan prodigy has attracted the interest of a trio of English Premier League clubs. Ruling Premier League champions Manchester City added Khusanova to their wish list in January according to Fabrizio Romano.
City will have to compete with Newcastle and Tottenham to secure the prized signature of the 20-year-old, as both Premier League clubs are understood to have opened talks with Khusanov. As Romano signed his report: “Race open.”
While Newcastle have a settled partnership with an aging centre-back, Spurs and City’s defensive bodies have been plagued by injuries this season. Ange Postecoglou was forced to bring off the half-ready Radu Dragusin after a a spate of absences it left him without a single senior centre-back last month.
Pep Guardiola’s extraordinary champions had so many fitness problems that the Catalan coach made public plea for reinforcements in January. “I thought the centre-backs would be fit all season but we’ve struggled – we’re holding the midfield and the centre-backs need help,” lamented the City boss at the end of the year.
“The market is the market – it’s not easy, it’s expensive, so we’ll see what the club can do.”
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