Manchester City Mercato News: Pep Guardiola targets all-round wonderkid Abdukodir Khusanov – Fabrizio Romano

Manchester City have expressed interest in RC Lens central defender Abdukodir Khusanov, according to information from Fabrizio Romano.

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This Uzbek international player has stood out this season as one of the greatest hopes in French football, taking over from the injured Kevin Danso and putting in excellent performances.

Khusanov’s rise to prominence has been meteoric and, at just 20 years old, this athletic defender has promising potential, with his coach Will Still affirming that he is already a “complete” player despite his young age.

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“Kodir is very, very fast,” he said. “He’s an athlete. We joked that if he went to the Olympics, he could participate in all the sports for Uzbekistan because he is so complete!”

It is therefore not surprising that Premier League clubs are interested in him. Chelsea had already expressed an interest, but a new suitor is now in the spotlight.

Manchester City envisage Khusanov

According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City have included Khusanov on their list of options to strengthen their defense this month. The transfer expert reports that the Citizens are “well informed” about his situation, but that the race to recruit him remains open.

Furthermore, Khusanov’s high potential as well as his reasonable price make him an attractive target. Although Romano does not specify an amount, it has been reported that the cost of the Uzbek’s transfer would hardly exceed 20-30 million euros.

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Last month, Lens sporting director Diego Lopez revealed that super-agent Jorge Mendes had been brought in to sell Khusanov, a move which was accepted by the French club due to their desire to generate funds.

“We decided to do it,” Lopez said. “We put all options on the table. We analyzed a lot and decided with [le PDG] Pierre [Dreossi] to sign a mandate. This comes from an analysis of the internal market, the price of a transfer and many other factors.”