The winter transfer window in Europe is not yet encouraging with high-profile transactions, but very soon the sensational transfer to Man City of the Uzbek Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov should take place. In this story, the first thing that is impressive is the amount that the English top club will pay the French: taking into account all the bonuses, the transfer will cost 50 million euros.

Not so long ago, Khusanov played in the Belarusian league, and his salary was only $100. Now Pep Guardiola himself is interested in his services, and experts call the 20-year-old defender one of the most promising players in his position in the world.

Refused offers from RPL

The Bunyodkor graduate began his career in professional football in Belarus in 2022. Minsk “Energetik-BGU” signed Abdukodir before he came of age and waited another year for the guy to turn 18 years old in order to include him in the championship application. The club, modest even by Belarusian standards, could not offer young players decent financial conditions, but provided playing time. Khusanov was paid about $100 at Energetika; the player’s agent even had to pay his client extra so that he could feed himself.

Khusanov was far from the only player from Uzbekistan in the Minsk club. The delivery of young players from this country was put on stream, but only Abdukodir managed to really take off. The defender especially noted the role of the team’s head coach:

— They helped me a lot in Belarus. Anatoly Yurevich, coach of Energetika-BGU, helped me a lot. In fact, he did almost everything. My father and Energetik coach told me to wait until the end. When the player slightly lets go of the ball, then you need to go into the tackle. I don’t rush into tackles thoughtlessly, I wait. When I need to play hard, I play. “They taught me all this,” the defender said in an interview with Championat.Asia.

Abdukodir Khusanov / Photo: © Alex Grimm – FIFA / Contributor / FIFA / Gettyimages.ru

At Energetik, Khusanov quickly became the main defender, which is very rare for an 18-year-old football player, even taking into account the not-so-high level of the championship. At the same time, Abdukodir played for the youth and youth teams of Uzbekistan, in which he was noticed by European scouts. In June 2023, he made his debut for the main team of the country, and a little later an offer arrived from Lens. According to the player’s representative, Gairat Khasbiullin, Khusanov had no shortage of offers. He was actively invited to Russia and Turkey, but he felt ready to move to the top championship:

– I had such a goal. Do not play in Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, but immediately in the top 5. There were options from Russia and Turkey, but we waited until the end and “Lance” came to us,” the player noted.

The French club got the promising defender for only 100 thousand euros, and his transfer became an event only in Uzbekistan. A year and a half later, the whole of Europe is talking about Khusanov.

Insane speed and maximum reliability

The first season in the new championship was spent on adaptation. Head coach Frank Eze initially marinated the newcomer in the reserves, besides, Khusanov was often called up to the national team: due to his performance at the Asian Cup and qualification for the Olympics, he missed a total of about two months. The status of the Uzbek defender changed after the arrival of the Englishman William Still, who was not afraid to bet on the young player. The 32-year-old specialist is constantly starting Khusanov in the starting lineup this season.

A number of statistical facts speak about the importance of the defender of the Uzbekistan national team for Lens: Khusanov is one of the best football players in the entire League 1 in terms of percentage and number of duels won. Abdukodir is especially good at aerial duels (70%) and passing accuracy in his own half (92%). The player’s defensive reliability is also characterized by the absence of scoring errors. In terms of scoring, things are not so good, but no one is demanding goals from the central defender. At the same time, in a recent cup match with PSG, Khusanov helped his team equalize the score: from close range he powerfully shot at Safonov’s goal, after which the ball ricocheted off another Lens player and ended up in the goal.

Abdukodir Khusanov / Photo: © Xavier Laine / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

They started talking about real interest in Khusanov from big clubs at the end of last year. Interest in the player was attributed to Newcastle, Tottenham and even Real Madrid, but Manchester City went the furthest. Well-known insider Fabrizio Romano said that the English club is in the final stages of negotiations with Lens. The defender’s market value is estimated at 12 million euros, but the French will earn much more on the transfer. The fixed amount for the transfer will be 36 million, and taking into account all bonuses it can reach 50 million. The fact of negotiations with Match TV was confirmed by the agency representing Khusanov’s interests.

It is curious that in his homeland, Khusanov in 2024 took only second place in the poll for the title of the best player of Uzbekistan, losing the leadership to Abbosbek Faizullaev from CSKA. The army midfielder has also been wooed to Europe for a long time, but the matter has not yet reached specific negotiations with potential buyers. Faizullaev himself claims that his national team partner can play for any top club:

— I am sure that it will reach the European level. He is my good friend, we communicate a lot, we live together in the national team. I know what kind of guy he is and what he is capable of. He can play for any top club. He has absolutely all the qualities: technique, strength, first pass. And I’m generally silent about speed – this is the fastest player in Uzbekistan. The speed is crazy. I’m good at running short distances, and Khusanov, because of his long stride, can quickly cover long distances. We measured it – he runs about 35 km/h,” Faizullaev noted in an interview with Sport24.

At Man City, Khusanov will have to compete with a number of star defenders: Akanji, Ake, Stones and Ruben Dias. Guardiola’s personal interest in inviting the Uzbek footballer suggests that the recent no-name player has every chance of soon reaching a new level for himself.