Man City join Tottenham in January pursuit of 'one of the best' young centre-backs in the world - Romano
01/03/2025 01:45 AM
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City finally have the opportunity to bring in reinforcements now the January transfer window has opened.
Tottenham have experienced a prolonged injury crisis at the back which has seen them unable to call upon most of their key defenders for large parts of the season.
Likewise, Manchester City have suffered from injuries to key players, with the likes of Rodri, John Stones and Ruben Dias currently on the sidelines.
Now, Fabrizio Romano has reported that Man City have joined Tottenham and other big clubs in the race for “one of the best” young defenders around.
Manchester City join Tottenham and others in Abdukodir Khusanov race
Romano has taken to X to say Man City have added Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov to their January transfer wish-list.
The transfer insider also said there are several top clubs keen on the Uzbekistan international, deemed “one of the best talents in his position”.
TBR Football's chief correspondent Graeme Bailey previously confirmed that Tottenham and Newcastle are in talks over a deal for Khusanov.
In addition, the likes of Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Brighton and West Ham have also watched Khusanov this season.
There is interest from the continent, too, with Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, Napoli, Atalanta and Marseille also keeping tabs on the 20-year-old.
The exciting things that have been said about Khusanov
Any club who signs the £20million-rated Khusanov would be getting themselves one of the best centre-backs in the French top flight.
The Ligue 1 website wrote in January: 'Almost never caught out by opposing attackers, the calm defender very often dominates his opponent physically, and has added another asset to his game: anticipation.
'Often well placed, he is the player who has made the most interceptions since the start of the season in the championship (17), tied with the Parisian Willian Pacho and Marseille's Pierre-Emile Hojberg.'
Meanwhile, Lens head coach Will Still is quoted by the website as saying: "He's calm, powerful, he's fast… He doesn't talk but he's good.
"When I arrived, with the departure of "Kev’" in sight, Jean-Louis Leca (sports coordinator) told me ‘don't worry, there's "Kodir" who is here, and he's ready.’
"He wasn't wrong. He has very, very impressive potential."
Bryce Samba is quoted as saying about his teammate after a 0-0 draw with Nice in September: "He's a monster, what he did again tonight… He scares me. No, really! For his age, what he does…"
