Manchester City complete deal for Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov
By Rachel Steinberg, PA
Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov has ed Manchester City on a four-and-a-half-year deal from Ligue 1 club Lens.
The PA news agency understands the fee for the 20-year-old is worth €40 million plus add-ons.
Khusanov is the first player from Uzbekistan to a Premier League club, and will wear the number 45 shirt.
We're delighted to announce the g of Abdukodir Khusanov 🩵 pic.twitter.com/ltXMbzm3TK
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 20, 2025
He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be ing Manchester City, a club that I have enjoyed watching for a long time.
“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.
“This is a very proud moment for me and my family to be ing a great club like Manchester City and I’m more than ready for this challenge.”
City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain added: “We are very happy that he has ed us and we are all very excited about what he will bring.
“For such a young defender, Abdukodir is already very intelligent, as well as being strong, aggressive and extremely quick.
Welcome, Abdukodir 👋 pic.twitter.com/Y6X88GB79O
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 20, 2025
“Working with Pep will only make him better and, speaking to him, he is determined to keep improving.
“He is a really exciting g as we aim to keep progressing to maintain one of the best squads in Europe.”
Khusanov’s deal keeps him at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2029.
He began his professional career in Belarus playing for Energetik-BGU before making the move to Ligue 1 in 2023, where he made 31 appearances for RC Lens.
Khusanov has been capped 18 times by Uzbekistan.
