Abdukodir Khusanov

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Sebi said:
Sorry for maybe some mistakes, it is from an german aricle:

Khusanov took his first steps in football in the youth ranks of the Uzbek club FK Bunyodkor. His father Khikmat Khoshimov, a former Uzbek national player, had already played there. However, his dream of playing for Bunyodkor's professional team like his father came to nothing: the club's management decided to discard him because he was deemed too small and slight for the senior team at U18 level.

Khusanov then joined Energetik-BGU in Belarus in 2022, where he quickly became a regular player.

Not long after moving to Minsk, Khusanov celebrated a major success: he won the 2023 Asian Cup in his home country with the Uzbek U20s.

His team only conceded one goal during the entire tournament. Thanks to his performances, he was included in the CIES Football Observatory's list of the world's most promising young defenders.

Just two months later, Khusanov also impressed at the U20 World Cup in Argentina. He played every minute and reached the round of 16 with his team - where, however, they were eliminated at the last minute by Israel.

Less than two months later, RC Lens came knocking and signed him for just €100,000 in the summer of 2023.
Khusanov came third in the 2023 vote for Uzbekistan's Footballer of the Year. He made an immediate impact at Lens, appearing eleven times in Ligue 1 and twice in the Champions League. He was a regular at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

In the 2024/25 season, he then came into his own thanks to an unexpected event: fellow centre-back Kevin Danso was about to move to AS Roma and was therefore no longer used in Ligue 1 - Khusanov took his place in the back three. Surprisingly, however, Danso's transfer to Italy fell through due to a possible heart problem.

Danso was advised not to train and play until the heart problem had been clarified. Khusanov delivered numerous impressive performances in the Austrian's absence. Although Danso returned to the Lens starting eleven in October 2024, Khusanov kept his place and largely pushed long-time regular Jonathan Gradit to the bench - and things are going well.

Despite finishing seventh in the table, Lens have the second-best defence in Ligue 1 and have only conceded 15 goals in 16 games.

His strengths:
Khusanov is physically extremely strong and tackles hard in every duel. Goalkeeper Brice Samba, who recently moved to Rennes from Lens, described him as ‘a monster who scares me’ after a 0-0 draw with OGC Nice earlier this season. Journalist Narzulla Saydullaev told So Foot: ‘In Uzbekistan, they say that it makes no difference whether you get hit by a train or by Abdukodir.’

The defender is also incredibly fast. At the end of last year, a video of him went viral: against Reims, he sprinted back the entire pitch to prevent Junya Ito from finishing. However, despite travelling at 37 km/h, he was unable to do so.

Strength, speed and aggression are his greatest strengths. However, Khusanov is also known for his tactical intelligence and his ability to initiate attacks. Thanks to his ball security and understanding of the game, he has an important role to play in the build-up.

Lens coach Will Still praised him: ‘He's calm, strong, quick... He doesn't speak much, but he's good. When I arrived and it looked like Danso was leaving, Jean-Louis Leca [Lens sporting director] told me: ‘Don't worry, Kodir is here and ready’. He was right. He has very, very impressive potential.’

What he needs to work on:
Ideally, Khusanov should acquire an even better eye and tactical understanding, as well as making his passes even more precise. If you want to be successful at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, you need these qualities.

In addition, a potential transfer to the island would naturally require him to improve his English language skills. This should also help him to communicate more on the pitch.

Khusanov is extremely strong-willed and aggressive on the pitch and also strong in the air. These qualities are also embodied by Ruben Dias from Manchester City - his potential new team-mate.

Khusanov can also be compared to Nemanja Vidic, former Manchester United defender, especially in terms of his fearless style of play. Even at a young age, the Uzbek looks like the ultimate mentality player.

Khusanov believes that now is the right time to take the next step in his career. His advisor, Gairat Khasbiullin, told the British Mirror: ‘He is one of the best in his position in Europe, young and getting stronger every day. He deserves to play for the best clubs in Europe. We have a very good relationship with Lens and are on the same page - we want the best for the player together. If the transfer materialises, the club will receive a well-deserved reward for the trust it has placed in the young player.’ Lens CEO Pierre Dreossi has also stated that Khusanov ‘will leave in January’.

However, City are not the only club showing interest in Khusanov. According to reports, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle are also endeavouring to sign him. BVB are also mentioned among the ranks of notable interested parties.

However, the Skyblues are said to be in pole position. A transfer fee of 40 million euros is being discussed.
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' Monster who scares me'. Like the sound of that, we don't have enough hard, physical players in the team at the moment.
 
southamptonblue said:
...because we don't need them, we need good footballers, no room for 'Vinny Jones' type, you're not really allowed to tackle these days anyway.
Click to expand...

Definitely room for a Vinny Kompany type though, who was absolutely monstrous physically. We definitely need another commanding defender with pace and this guy looks to tick all the boxes, his passing stats are very good aswell.
 
Withnail said:
Who said anything about a Vinny Jones type of player, the current team is lacking physicality and we are far too easy to play against, especially in midfield and defence.
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We have the same players in defence as last season (when we won the league) and bar Rodri, the same midfield.....I can't see how suddenly we need 'physicality'.....maybe playing wingers who give the ball away, too often, in the wrong places is causing it ;)
 
Sebi said:
Sorry for maybe some mistakes, it is from an german aricle:

Khusanov took his first steps in football in the youth ranks of the Uzbek club FK Bunyodkor. His father Khikmat Khoshimov, a former Uzbek national player, had already played there. However, his dream of playing for Bunyodkor's professional team like his father came to nothing: the club's management decided to discard him because he was deemed too small and slight for the senior team at U18 level.

Khusanov then joined Energetik-BGU in Belarus in 2022, where he quickly became a regular player.

Not long after moving to Minsk, Khusanov celebrated a major success: he won the 2023 Asian Cup in his home country with the Uzbek U20s.

His team only conceded one goal during the entire tournament. Thanks to his performances, he was included in the CIES Football Observatory's list of the world's most promising young defenders.

Just two months later, Khusanov also impressed at the U20 World Cup in Argentina. He played every minute and reached the round of 16 with his team - where, however, they were eliminated at the last minute by Israel.

Less than two months later, RC Lens came knocking and signed him for just €100,000 in the summer of 2023.
Khusanov came third in the 2023 vote for Uzbekistan's Footballer of the Year. He made an immediate impact at Lens, appearing eleven times in Ligue 1 and twice in the Champions League. He was a regular at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

In the 2024/25 season, he then came into his own thanks to an unexpected event: fellow centre-back Kevin Danso was about to move to AS Roma and was therefore no longer used in Ligue 1 - Khusanov took his place in the back three. Surprisingly, however, Danso's transfer to Italy fell through due to a possible heart problem.

Danso was advised not to train and play until the heart problem had been clarified. Khusanov delivered numerous impressive performances in the Austrian's absence. Although Danso returned to the Lens starting eleven in October 2024, Khusanov kept his place and largely pushed long-time regular Jonathan Gradit to the bench - and things are going well.

Despite finishing seventh in the table, Lens have the second-best defence in Ligue 1 and have only conceded 15 goals in 16 games.

His strengths:
Khusanov is physically extremely strong and tackles hard in every duel. Goalkeeper Brice Samba, who recently moved to Rennes from Lens, described him as ‘a monster who scares me’ after a 0-0 draw with OGC Nice earlier this season. Journalist Narzulla Saydullaev told So Foot: ‘In Uzbekistan, they say that it makes no difference whether you get hit by a train or by Abdukodir.’

The defender is also incredibly fast. At the end of last year, a video of him went viral: against Reims, he sprinted back the entire pitch to prevent Junya Ito from finishing. However, despite travelling at 37 km/h, he was unable to do so.

Strength, speed and aggression are his greatest strengths. However, Khusanov is also known for his tactical intelligence and his ability to initiate attacks. Thanks to his ball security and understanding of the game, he has an important role to play in the build-up.

Lens coach Will Still praised him: ‘He's calm, strong, quick... He doesn't speak much, but he's good. When I arrived and it looked like Danso was leaving, Jean-Louis Leca [Lens sporting director] told me: ‘Don't worry, Kodir is here and ready’. He was right. He has very, very impressive potential.’

What he needs to work on:
Ideally, Khusanov should acquire an even better eye and tactical understanding, as well as making his passes even more precise. If you want to be successful at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, you need these qualities.

In addition, a potential transfer to the island would naturally require him to improve his English language skills. This should also help him to communicate more on the pitch.

Khusanov is extremely strong-willed and aggressive on the pitch and also strong in the air. These qualities are also embodied by Ruben Dias from Manchester City - his potential new team-mate.

Khusanov can also be compared to Nemanja Vidic, former Manchester United defender, especially in terms of his fearless style of play. Even at a young age, the Uzbek looks like the ultimate mentality player.

Khusanov believes that now is the right time to take the next step in his career. His advisor, Gairat Khasbiullin, told the British Mirror: ‘He is one of the best in his position in Europe, young and getting stronger every day. He deserves to play for the best clubs in Europe. We have a very good relationship with Lens and are on the same page - we want the best for the player together. If the transfer materialises, the club will receive a well-deserved reward for the trust it has placed in the young player.’ Lens CEO Pierre Dreossi has also stated that Khusanov ‘will leave in January’.

However, City are not the only club showing interest in Khusanov. According to reports, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle are also endeavouring to sign him. BVB are also mentioned among the ranks of notable interested parties.

However, the Skyblues are said to be in pole position. A transfer fee of 40 million euros is being discussed.
Click to expand...
Great article. Thanks.

Loved that bit of not mattering if it was a train or him that hit you.

On another note, that's some damn good business from Lille. Bought for €100,000 in 2023 just to be sold for 40M two years later.
 
southamptonblue said:
...because we don't need them, we need good footballers, no room for 'Vinny Jones' type, you're not really allowed to tackle these days anyway.
Click to expand...
Nobody is a 'Vinny Jones' type player these days, for the reason you posted.

But anyone who has watched or played football knows the value of warriors and players that give their all. They intimidate weaker players and dominate those willing to go head-to-head.

Lots of world class defenders have had that quality in modern times, including the likes of Ramos, Pepe, Vidic, Terry, Dias, etc, and it will never fall out of the sport.

They just need to be smarter in how they stay in line with the rules. Rudiger is a good example of that.
 
Jonas.shaffer said:
Great article. Thanks.

Loved that bit of not mattering if it was a train or him that hit you.

On another note, that's some damn good business from Lille. Bought for €100,000 in 2023 just to be sold for 40M two years later.
Click to expand...
It’s Lens, but those French cities all sound the same, am I right?!
 
southamptonblue said:
We have the same players in defence as last season (when we won the league) and bar Rodri, the same midfield.....I can't see how suddenly we need 'physicality'.....maybe playing wingers who give the ball away, too often, in the wrong places is causing it ;)
Click to expand...
It could be that, it could equally be playing the extremely high back line or the poor form of a number of players such as Akanji, Gvardiol, Foden and Bernardo or time catching up with Walker, Debruyne and Gundo. Or a ridiculous number of injuries. Or a combination of all of them
 
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