There are profitable investments. There are very profitable investments. And there is the transfer of Abdukodir Khusanov. A year and a half after his arrival at RC Lens for the “modest” sum of 100,000 euros, the young 20-year-old Uzbek defender should leave Pas-de-Calais for Manchester City and a check for 50 million, bonus included (40 million fixed part and 10 million euros bonus). A crazy return on investment for the blood and gold club, which reached an agreement on Friday for the departure of its player to the English champions, coached by Pep Guardiola.
You haven’t had time to see him at work in Ligue 1? It’s not just because you didn’t end up subscribing to DAZN. “Kodir” Khusanov was initially discreet, with his first year in France playing eleven matches in the elite. Before exploding since September, where he established himself as a starter in a demanding position that requires experience. A profile highly sought after by the big clubs, like Lenny Yoro who left at the age of 18 from neighboring Lille for the other Manchester club, United, for 70 million euros.
“For a 19-year-old player, he looks more like 25 when he plays,” says his coach at the time, Franck Haise, from his first friendly match with the Artésiens in July 2023. And we see in a ten-minute start, he plays a real man’s match and is of a high level. He didn’t get moved defensively. But he surprised the players. In a first week, they did not expect it to be at this level. He is solid, calm, reads, he knows how to use the ball. At 19 years old, it’s clear that we didn’t have that in our young squad. There is a real milestone. We have interesting players, but who are not at that level at all. »
A few months earlier, the young Uzbek had impressed the recruiter of the Racing Club de Lens responsible for supervising the Under-20 World Cup. If his selection leaves the competition in the round of 16, his individual performances impress. Less than three months later, the Sang et Or brought him from the Belarusian club Energetik Minsk, where he had been playing since the previous year.
“He scares me, but really”
After a season in the shadow of the Danso-Medina-Gradit trio, Abdukodir Khusanov established himself thanks to the abortive departure of the first named to AS Rome. His strength? His speed and power, which sent PSG striker Gonçalo Ramos to the ground during the 32nd final of the Coupe de France between Lens and Paris in December. “A monster,” his partners say of him, marked by the impact of this young man, who arrived in France knowing only how to speak Uzbek and Russian.
“He scares me, but really,” slips his goalkeeper at the time, who has since left for Rennes, Brice Samba. “Kodir is going very, very quickly. Physically he is an athlete, adds his trainer Will Still. We laughed and said that he could have done all the disciplines at the Olympics with Uzbekistan (he was released with his selection from the groups of the Olympic tournament) because he is so complete. »
“He’s the modern defender that everyone dreams of having,” added Lens midfielder Angelo Fulgini to L’Équipe in October. I see him going very high. »
In December, the Football Observatory of the International Center for the Study of Sport ranked him as the best central defender in the world under the age of 21. Enough to interest very large clubs, aware of the complicated financial situation of Lensois.
It was ultimately Manchester City, struggling in the Premier League with a sixth place, which attracted the young man in an operation where the star of the agents Jorge Mendes played intermediary. Abdukodir Khusanov in Ligue 1, it’s now over. And the future will tell to what extent our championship has seen a phenomenon in the space of a few months.
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