Meet Abdukodir Khusanov, the £33m ‘Tank’ Uzbek defender who sprints like an Olympian and is joining Man City from Lens
MANCHESTER CITY are closing in on signing Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens.
The Premier League champions have reportedly agreed a £33.6million deal to land the youngster this month.
But who is the rising star set to make his switch to the Etihad – and what kind of a player are City signing?
First of all, Pep Guardiola is getting a proper defender.
Khusanov, 20, is no creative player who has been shoehorned into playing at the back.
He is a defender’s defender – and seemingly relishes preventing strikers scoring, coming out in the 94th percentile for his defensive stats in Ligue 1 this term.
And he is a physical specimen of a man: 6ft 1in tall, powerful, strong, athletic and quick. Very quick.
Khusanov clocked a staggering top speed of 37km/h – 22.9mph – earlier this season.
To put that into context, Usain Bolt averaged 37.58km/h to set the 100m world record of 9.58 seconds, albeit reaching 43.99km/h during the 2009 race.
In the 2023-24 Premier League season, the 37km/h barrier was broken just twice – both by Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven who managed 37.38km/h and 37.23km/h.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
So it’s safe to say that Khusanov would add a whole new dynamic to City’s back line with his lightning pace.
He capitalises on his physical attributes to be strong in the air and even stronger in the challenge.
His aggressive pressing style and love of a battle with a striker means he is perfectly comfortable stepping out to squeeze opponents or intercept as well as in one-v-one situations, drawing comparisons to Ruben Dias.
He is not dirty, only picking up two yellow cards this season, but does love a last-ditch slide tackle and did see red for a studs-up challenge on PSG’s Achraf Hakimi in November.
His Lens manager Will Still summed it up succinctly: “Kodir is a tank.”
Interestingly, though, Khusanov is not your typical Guardiola centre-back because he is not the best with the ball at his feet.
He averages fewer touches, passes and forward carries than his centre-back partners Kevin Danso and Facundo Medina – albeit playing in the middle of a back three – and certainly has room to grow in his range of passing.
This will be particularly important when lining up in a Guardiola team that dominates possession.
It has been a staggering and rapid rise for Khusanov as he finds himself on the brink of his transfer to England.
The Uzbekistan international and Olympian – who would become the first Uzbek to play in the Premier League – 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 is now set to move on for 400 TIMES that figure, having only established himself as a first-team regular starter this season.
But City fans’ excitement will be curbed by two important factors.
Khusanov is not very experienced.
The youngster – who ironically has only celebrated five birthdays as he was born on February 29, 2004 – went into 2025 with still only 24 Ligue 1 appearances to his name.
He has two in the Champions League from last season’s group stages, including a 6-0 thrashing by Arsenal.
The other slight area for concern is verbally.
Khusanov has been described as a very quiet person and add in the further complications of the language barrier upon arriving in England and that could mean he takes time to settle.
But if struggling Guardiola is so keen to spend big cash and waste no time in bringing him in, he must be confident he can get the best out of Abdukodir Khusanov as City’s next defensive stalwart.