With his profile as a robust defender, but not yet good at possession, Lensois Abdukodir Khusanov displays remarkable stats for a young 20-year-old player. Without doubt the explanation for his imminent transfer to Manchester City.
Arriving in complete anonymity from Minsk, Abdukodir Khusanov will leave Lens with a record transfer. The 20-year-old Uzbek defender is on the verge of signing for Manchester City, who have agreed to commit 50 million euros (bonus included). But how can we explain such a transfer on a sporting level? Does the native of Tashkent really have the level to play for the reigning English champion?
There is unanimity on the impression left by the young man. Compared to his age and the Lensois context, second best defense in Ligue 1, everyone is amazed. “He’s a monster, he really scares me,” said his captain Brice Samba at the start of the season. “He has incredible talent, he is present in every match, he does exactly what we ask him to do. He goes fast, he is athletic, he is very good on the ball, very very complete”, added more recently his coach Will Still.
But for many of the best European clubs to position themselves and for Manchester City to win with a substantial sum, there is no doubt that feeling cannot be enough. This is where the figures come in, notably compiled by the FBref site.
Best in interceptions
These show in this case that Manchester City will recruit an element that is already very good or even excellent in purely defensive aspects. Taking into account the five major championships and European competitions, over the past year, Abdukodir Khusanov is simply the best in successful interceptions per match (2.34). Where Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké do worse than 96% of the other centrals. Which should not be interpreted as a weakness of the two Mancunian starters, necessarily less in demand, but rather as the strength of the Lensois to perform well in a team facing difficulties.
In the European benchmark, Abdukodir Khusanov is also top 15% in successful tackles (1.20 per match), top 10% in the proportion of dribblers tackled or even top 23% in blocked shots. Good and very good for a 20-year-old young man who left Uzbekistan in the summer of 2023.
A zoom on the French stats for the season (+10 matches played) confirm the trend: third in defensive duels won (78%), third in successful sliding tackles (0.66 per 90 minutes). For comparison, Willian Pacho is at 73% of duels won, Marquinhos at 71%.
His game with the ball to develop
Analysis of his profile also highlights what he does not do, or does less well. When Manuel Akanji, Nathan Aké and Ruben Dias are almost everywhere in the European top 5% or 10% on passing and ball use indicators, Abdukodir Khusanov is far away. For example, he is below average on successful passes per match (43.05 compared to 51.37), only in the top 57% on successful pass rate (87.6%) and top 74% on ball carries .
Data to be placed in the relatively cautious game of the Blood and Gold, but which above all shows what Pep Guardiola will have to work on for assimilation to the Mancunian style to be successful. The fact that Abdukodir Khusanov is in the top 37% and 34% for the precision of medium and long passes must give good prospects for progression to the Cityzens sports management. Especially for a player who is only 20 years old.
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