The January transfer window is set to be a busy one Manchester City.
In the summer, four in a row Premier League The champions made a profit of around £126m by signing Savinho from within City Football Group For 30 million pounds sterlingbut recorded huge profits thanks to the sales of Julian Alvarez (£81.5m), Joao Cancelo (£21m)Liam Delap (20 million pounds sterling), Taylor Harwood Bellis (20 million pounds sterling) and others.
thus, Pep GuardiolaThe side should be able to spend a significant amount this month, if they so choose.
Adding defensive reinforcements will certainly be a priority, considering Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, John Stones and Manuel Akanji. Josco Guardiol He owns All matches missing intermittently Due to various injuries so far.
Besides 20-year-old Rico Luis, the Sky Blues only have seven defenders in four positions, so there is certainly room in the squad for another defender, perhaps two, to arrive in January.
Man City is looking to sign a young defender
According to a report by L ESPN's Rob DawsonManchester City are in talks with Lens with a view to signing Abdulkader Khosanov.
In addition, Steve Pearson from TEAMtalk The Ligue 1 club are believed to value the centre-back at around £25m, although this figure is unclear Luke Entwistle from Get French Football News Believing his price to be €40m (about £33m).
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in Interview with DAZN France On Sunday, ahead of Lens' Ligue 1 match against Toulouse at Stade Boulaert Delillis, general manager Pierre Driussi confirmed that Khosanov will “leave” the club this month, after the defender was left out of Les Sang-et-Ors' squad for their first match. For the year 2025.
So who is Khosanov, and why do Manchester City think he is the man to fix their defensive problems?
How Abdulkadir Khosanov can strengthen Manchester City's defensive options
The 20-year-old Uzbek international began his career with Enerhitic-BDU Minsk in Belarus, before joining Lens. For a stingy €100,000 in July 2023What an extraordinary and exploratory work it has proven to be.
He has so far participated in 31 matches with the French team. He starts each of the last 14 games Which was available to him, as he missed the match twice through suspension, before Sunday's loss at the hands of Toulouse, who was left out by English manager Will Still.
Also at the international level, he quickly established himself One of the first names on the team sheet for Uzbekistan, Start all three matches At last summer's Olympics, while the White Wolves are currently in a strong position in World Cup qualifying, on track to do so for the first time.
If he joins, Khosanov will become the first player from Uzbekistan to participate in the English Premier League. Nation 125 different To be represented.
The young defender's performance received rave reviews, with him being described as “Future legend” Written by talent scout Jacek Kulig So if he moves to Manchester, fans should be excited about what they are set to see.
Of course, Manchester City already have several high-quality, expensively assembled centre-backs in their squad, so how does Khosanov compare to his potential future teammates?
|
Khosanov vs Manchester City midfielders on 24/25 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Khosanov |
Guardiola |
Dias |
Kanji |
Stones |
What |
|
Appearances |
13 |
25 |
17 |
21 |
10 |
10 |
|
minutes |
975 |
2,116 |
1,315 |
1,785 |
494 |
653 |
|
Success completion rate |
88.1% |
92% |
94.3% |
94.1% |
93.5% |
93.6% |
|
He treats |
15 |
37 |
11 |
17 |
7 |
9 |
|
Blocks |
17 |
31 |
11 |
15 |
3 |
7 |
|
Objections |
26 |
25 |
15 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
|
Approvals |
57 |
63 |
37 |
48 |
12 |
17 |
|
Pneumatic diodes beat % |
69.2% |
54.5% |
63.4% |
44.7% |
73.3% |
55.6% |
As shown in the table above, Khosanov faces stiff competition if he wants to establish himself as a regular starter for Manchester City, but he certainly has the qualities to succeed.
His pass completion percentage, although slightly lower, is comparable, while of the six players analysed, he ranks third in tackles, second in blocks and top in interceptions.
guardiola, The second most expensive defender Of all time, he ranks higher in the metrics than anyone else, and is Manchester City's best-performing defender this season. According to Sovascor.
However, Khosanov shares many of the same traits, particularly in his ability to play out from the back, which confirms he is more likely to find success if he joins the Premier League champions.
Like Gvardiol, who was just a year older when he moved to the Etihad, it could also signal the arrival of one of the best young defenders in the game. This certainly bodes well for citizens.
