Manchester City bolstered their defensive core for the next decade with the signing of Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov from RC Lens for a reported £33.5 million fee.
The 20-year-old centre-back has earned his reputation by excelling in Ligue 1 and has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract (until June 30, 2029) with the Cityzens and has been given the number 45 shirt.
The centre-back has his agent Gairat Khasbiullin to thank for helping him seal this big jump from playing for the French side to now going to one of the best teams in Europe.
Khusanov had meager £2.2,00-a-week salary at Lens, and while his wages at Manchester City is yet to be revealed, it’ll definitely be a huge hike as the lowest-paid player in the senior squad gets £7,000-a-week (Josh Wilson-Esbrand).
Gairat is really excited by Khusanov’s potential and promoted his quality in a big way, stating: “He’s one of the best in his position in Europe, young and every day becomes even stronger. He deserves to play in the best clubs in Europe.”
Khusanov has made history by becoming the first-ever Uzbekistan footballer to join a Premier League team. He’s definitely come a long way from beginning his footballing journey in Taskent – the capital of Uzbekistan. Abdukosir was born on 29 February, 2004 and is a rare footballer to have a leap year birthday.
Khusanov is the son of former Uzbekistan international footballer Hikmat Hashinov, who made 13 appearances for the country (Abdukosir has already made 18!) Many people couldn’t link the two together because Hikmat intentionally refused to give Abdukodir his own surname.
The centre-back was given his paternal grandfather’s surname to prevent accusations of nepotism or special favors from his father and ensure he could build his own fame as a footballer.
Abdukodir regards his father as his biggest motivator in football, as he revealed: “My father was my first teacher. His praise is my greatest motivation. But he doesn’t praise me too often — probably to prevent arrogance. Instead, he points out my mistakes so that I can improve. And that’s enough for me — to have my father notice my mistakes.”
At the meager age of seven, Khusanov was enrolled into the FC Bunyodkor football academy in Tashkent and also did his education in the Bunyodkor school. He played for the Bunyodkor youth academy teams for many years, even playing for the Uzbekistan under-17 side during his time at the club.
In 2022, at the age of 18, Khusanov moved to Belarusian club Energetik-BGU in Minsk.
Even though he only spent one season at Energetik, the centre-back made a significant impact at the club. He helped them finish in second place in the 2022 Belarusian Premier League and was named as one of the most promising young footballers in the world by the International Center for Sports Research.
Despite moving to a new country at the meager age of 18, Khusanov showed no signs of nerves and was determined to improve himself as a footballer with the help of Energetik’s coaches.
The former Energetik coach Pavel Rodnenok revealed how Abdukodir would always look for ways to improve his game, claiming: “It was immediately visible. I was working with the defenders and he (Khusanov) started bombarding me with questions. ‘Why should I run here? Why should I turn around like this? Why should I move here? I realised he wanted to understand everything about defending. He had an iron character.”
Khusanov was snapped up by RC Lens in the 2023 summer transfer window. The youngster might’ve only made 31 appearances for Lens’ senior team, but that itself was enough to catch Manchester City’s attention.
He helped Lens keep six clean sheets in 13 appearances in the 2024/25 season before the Cityzens came calling. The 6’1 defender is already an impressive physical specimen at his young age and has earned praise for being an intimidating defender to deal with for the forwards.
RC Lens’ former head coach Will Still has described as ‘He’s calm, powerful, he’s fast… He doesn’t talk but he’s good. He has very, very impressive potential.’ Lens’ goalkeeper Bryce Samba hailed Abdukodir as “a monster who scares me” and Uzbek journalist Narzella Saydullaev claimed that‘In Uzbekistan, they say that being hit by a train or by Abdukodir is the same thing.’
But it’s not just Khusanov’s physical strengths and ability to duel with strong forwards that will help him adapt to the Premier League’s intensity, but also his rapid pace.
Earlier this season, in a 2-0 win over Montpellier in Ligue 1, the 20-year-old defender recorded a maximum speed of 37 KM/H after running from the opposition box into his own area in under 15 seconds. In comparison, the fastest defender in the 2024/25 Premier League is Micky van de Ven, who managed a 37.12 KM/H top speed.
Khusanov will, however, have to work hard in mastering the English language to properly settle into life in England.
He cannot speak the language, but is fluent in Uzbek, Russian and also took French-speaking classes during his time at RC Lens. Manchester City wise-captain, Bernardo Silva, can speak French (he played for AS Monaco) and will probably work as a translator in the initial stages to ensure Pep Guardiola can get the message across to the Uzbekistan centre-back with ease.
For those who want to pick the exciting young defender in their FC 25 team, they can expect a centre-back with a 72 overall rating. His biggest asset is his strength (81 rating) and his ultimate potential is 84. His sprint speed, however, is only 79 despite Khusanov’s reputation for being a blistering defender.
The 20-year-old has the aspirations of the entire Uzbekistan football scene on his shoulders as he steps into this intimidating challenge. Khusanov has the confidence and quality to withstand the Premier League’s pressure and will have to perform at a very high level to be a regular in the Manchester City lineup for years to come.
