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Manchester City have signed defender Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens for €40m, plus add-ons.
The 20-year-old, who will become the first Uzbekistan international to play in the Premier League, has signed a four-and-a-half year contract at the Etihad Stadium.
His arrival kicks off City’s January buying as Pep Guardiola has started rebuilding his team in a spending spree that will cost well over £100m.
City have reached a verbal agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt for the signing of forward Omar Marmoush and are closing in on Palmeiras centre-back Vitor Reis.
They are also interested in two Juventus players, looking to buy full-back Andrea Cambiaso, though a deal may not be possible this month, and are considering trying to take midfielder Douglas Luiz on loan for the rest of the season.
Khusanov, who made 31 appearances for Lens after joining them from Belarussian club Energetik-BGU in 2023, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester City, a club that I have enjoyed watching for a long time.
“This squad is full of the best players in the world, and I can’t wait to meet them and play alongside them. And of course Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest coaches ever and I am so excited to learn from him and improve my game even more. This is a very proud moment for me and my family and I’m more than ready for this challenge.”
City are beginning to overhaul their ageing defence with captain Kyle Walker having missed the last three games as he explores the possibility of a move abroad, with AC Milan interested.
Khusanov and Reis are both considerably younger than Guardiola’s four main centre-backs, in John Stones, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
And director of football Txiki Begiristain highlighted Khusanov’s pace as a reason why City wanted him.
He said: “We are very happy that he has joined us and we are all very excited about what he will bring. For such a young defender, Abdukodir is already very intelligent, as well as being strong, aggressive and extremely quick.
“Working with Pep will only make him better and, speaking to him, he is determined to keep improving. He is a really exciting signing as we aim to keep progressing to maintain one of the best squads in Europe.”
