Newcastle United were very close to signing Abdukodir Khusanov but were late with their offer | OneFootball

Gairat Khasbiullin, the agent of new Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov, has revealed that Newcastle United were very close to doing a deal for the Uzbek international before he moved to the Etihad Stadium club.

The St. James Park club wanted the 20-year-old ‘powerful monster’ as Magpies manager Eddie Howe was keen to bolster his defensive options for the second half of 2024-25, but Man City pipped them to the player, signing him in a £33.5 million deal.

Newcastle will have to look elsewhere for the defender they want, but they came close to landing Khusanov and could regret missing out on him in the future if he turns out to be a top Premier League star.

“Newcastle were very close to a deal,” Khasbiullin told Championat when asked who was closest to intercepting the Man City deal for Khusanov

“They were even one of the favourites, and then they were the last to leave the race with City. As far as I understand, financial fair play also played a role. And they didn’t have enough time. Perhaps, if they had made an offer earlier, they would have managed to reach an agreement.

“Then City put so much pressure on Lens that it was difficult to make a comparable offer. The fact that the French needed this saving money also played a role.”

The Toons are yet to sign any player in the ongoing January window and it remains to be seen whether there are plans to sign any despite being linked with a couple of transfer targets.

They could do with more squad depth going forward this term to boost their chances of finishing in the top-four.

Newcastle are currently sixth in the Premier League table after 22 games, with six points separating them from second-placed Arsenal, and they need a strong finish to the campaign if they want to play in the Champions League next season.

Landing the Man City centre-back would have come in handy, and their recruitment department will hope to unearth similar hidden gems going forward for the club to snap up,