New Delhi: Manchester City are reportedly in agreement for a £33.6m deal plus bonuses with Lens for their central defender Abdukodir Khusanov. The 20-year-old is set to join City for seemingly a four and half years contract with an option to extend for 12 months. Media sources have said that there are additional payments attached to the sale and the player is close to undergoing a medical before the transfer can be confirmed.
Khusanov was always one of the top targets of the club as Pep Guardiola is trying to strengthen his squad following a difficult phase in the top flight where the defending champions have slipped to sixth place in the Premier League, standing 12 points behind table-toppers Liverpool. City are reportedly also in talks with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush following an impressive season with the German club.
🚨🔵 Abdukodir Khusanov to Man City, here we go! Deal in place for €40m fixed fee plus add-ons.
RC Lens accept proposal and approve medical tests to take place next days.
Contract until June 2029 plus option for further season.
✅ Exclusive story from December, confirmed. pic.twitter.com/HynpB8Szar
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 10, 2025
While there is no deal in place for the Egyptian international, the relationship between the two clubs is good and there is an obvious readiness for a compromise from both parties to take Marmoush to Etihad Stadium. City are currently also reported to be in negotiations for the Brazilian club Palmerias’s teenage defender Vitor Reis. However, the club president has quashed the rumours surrounding the 18-year-old.
Abdukodir Khusanov rising through the ranks
Uzbekistan’s Khusanov has made 18 international appearances and will be the first player from the country to play in the Premier League. He is also the first major signing City have made since Aymeric Laporte’s arrival in 2018. He joined Lens in 2023 from Belaruss club Energetik-BGU Minsk and so far has played 31 games for the Ligue 1 team, which include two substitute appearances in the Champions League during the group stages of the 2023-24 campaign. He recently scored his first for Lens against Paris Saint-Germain during a French Cup tie.
This season Khusanov has been one of the mainstays in the team’s starting XI and has missed just two of the 18 Ligue 1 games for serving red card back in November. Guardiola’s side currently has Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Nathan Ake as their options for centre-back. Khusanov’s arrival in the squad clearly indicates the Spanish manager’s trying to tackle their heavy injuries with defenders.
Dias hasn’t played for the club since City’s derby defeat on December 15th and has been ruled for the FA Cup third-round game against Salford City along with Stones. Ake, on the other hand, has missed the game for a prolonged duration twice in the season already due to injury. City have some good news after Oscar Bobb returned to training after being on the sidelines for five months due to a fractured leg.
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