10 things about Abdukodir Khusanov | OneFootball

Abdukodir Khusanov is the latest signing to join Manchester City following his move from Lens.

The 20-year-old has completed his switch from the Ligue 1 club on a four-and-half-year deal and goes straight into Pep Guardiola’s squad.

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Here are 10 things you may or may not know about our new defender…

New country

Khusanov will become the first Uzbekistan international to play for City and in the Premier League, becoming the 118th nationality to be represented.

Former West Brom, Cardiff and Stoke forward Peter Odemwingie was born in the capital city Tashkent but chose to represent Nigeria at international level.

WATCH: Watch: Khusanov gives first interview as a City player

Journey so far

Born in Tashkent, he played youth team football for one of the city’s clubs, Bunyodkor, before moving to Belarusian side Energetik-BGU where he made his senior debut in a 3-1 win over Vitebsk.

After 37 appearances, he moved to Lens where he has played 31 times for the French club.

Leap of faith

He was born on February 29, 2004 meaning he is a rare ‘leapling’ with the odds of being born on that day at 1461-1.

Former City attacker Ferran Torres was also born on the same date, four years earlier, but both will have to wait another three years before their next official birthday!

Boy wonder

Khusanov was among the longlist of nominees for the 2024 Golden Boy award along with his new City team-mates Rico Lewis and Savinho.

The prize, given to the best footballer aged under 21, was won by Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal with previous winners including Mario Balotelli, Raheem Sterling and Erling Haaland.

Boots to fill

His father Khikmat Khoshimov was also a footballer and won 12 caps for Uzbekistan, although his son has already made six more appearances for the country.

Khikmat won the Uzbekistan League and Cup double with Bunyodkor Tashkent in the 2009/10 season before coaching at the Club where his son played at youth level.

World Cup challenge

Uzbekistan have never featured at a World Cup but have made a strong start to qualifying for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In the Asian Football Confederation, the nation is currently sitting second in Group A with four games remaining, with the top two countries guaranteed to qualify.

National pride

The defender has represented his country at under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-23 age groups as well as for the main team.

He also featured at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 although Uzbekistan failed to get out of their group after two defeats and a draw.

Winning formula

Hosts of the Under-20 Asian Cup, Khusanov was part of the Uzbekistan side that beat Syria, Australia and South Korea on their way to the final ahead of a 1-0 victory over Iraq in front of 33,000 fans at the National Stadium.

That saw them qualify for the Under-20 World Cup where they made it out of the group stage to the last-16 where they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Israel.

Double speak

The 20-year-old can speak Uzbek and Russian and was having French language lessons while he was at Lens.

His best friend in France was Spanish-speaking Ecuadorian footballer Jhoanner Chavez so Pep Guardiola may find it easier than expected to get any messages across!

Long way from home

Hometown Tashkent is around 3,500 miles from Manchester and five hours ahead of UK time.

The good news is that there is a branch of the Official Supporters Club – Tashkent Cityzens - close by.