Manchester City have confirmed the signing of the defender Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens in a deal understood to be worth €40 million plus add-ons. The 20-year-old is the club’s first January signing and City also have a deal in principle to buy the forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Khusanov, poised to become the first Uzbeki to play in the Premier League, has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal. Lens are making a huge profit on a centre back they bought for €100,000 from the Belarusian club Energetik-BGU in July 2023.
City have moved the bolster their squad after an unexpectedly poor first half of the season that has left them 12 points behind the Premier League leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand. The 19-year-old Brazilian defender Vitor Reis is also in line to join, for €35 million from Palmeiras.
Khusanov has 18 caps and was described as “a really exciting signing” by City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain. “For such a young defender, Abdukodir is already very intelligent, as well as being strong, aggressive and extremely quick,” Begiristain said.
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Khusanov said: “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.” – Guardian
