Real Madrid launch transfer contacts for defender in major threat to Manchester City hopes of January deal | OneFootball

Manchester City now face growing competition over their transfer pursuit of Lens and Uzbekistan centre-back, Abdukodir Khusanov according to new reports from France.

The Premier League champions are widely believed to be on the hunt for a brand new central defender to reinforce their options for the long-term future, amid a common belief within the club that a major overhaul of their first-team is needed.

That has widely been sparked by a torrid run of form across competitions stretching from November through till late December, when Manchester City managed to record just two wins in 14 games.

Some within the club have been keen to credit that poor run of form to a collection of injury problems in key positions, whilst others have insisted that the players available to Pep Guardiola are no longer up to the level required to seriously compete for silverware.

Now, as part of the intended rebuild across 2025, Manchester City have been chasing one of the brightest prospects within the game over in France, but face growing competition from the reigning UEFA Champions League winners in Real Madrid.

That is according to the information of Foot Mercato, who reveal that a meeting between Manchester City, super-agent Jorge Mendes and RC Lens took place last week over the potential transfer of Abdukodir Khusanov to the Etihad Stadium.

The report claims the meeting was in the presence of the player’s father Khikmatzhon Khoshimov, and his agent Khasbiullin Gairat, while there is now also said to be competition from Real Madrid, who are ‘very interested’ in the player with contacts having taken place.

From the side of Lens, the report suggests that the Ligue 1 side have the aim of securing a transfer fee north of €25 million, while the possibility of remaining at the club until the end of the season has not been ruled out by his representatives.

Speaking to Foot Mercato as part of the report, Khusanov’s entourage explained, “The player loves RC Lens with all his heart. But we understand the club’s desire to gain financial benefit from the transfer, and they deserve it for their confidence in the young player.”

They continued, “We are grateful for everything that Lens has given us and that in this situation, but it is up to the player to decide the next step to take. Abdukodir is now ready to stay a few more months at Lens if necessary.

“The player’s sporting development is a priority for us and that is why we decided to sign Lens at that time while we had other offers.”

For now, it remains to be seen just how much of their January transfer budget Manchester City are willing to invest in the centre-back talent, but the club will be aware that Lens are desperate for cash this month.

City also have other ambitions when it comes to recruitment this window, eyeing up a new central midfielder to inject energy into the centre of the park that has been heavily depleted by Rodri’s long-term injury problem.

A new attacking option has also been mooted, with Etihad Stadium officials widely linked with an admiration for the talents of Eintracht Frankfurt and Egypt’s Omar Marmoush, who is valued at north of £50 million by the German club.