45 | Abdukodir Khusanov - 2025/26

I actually think he's a minor problem at the moment. When Dias is back it needs to be him and Guehi together, with Khusanov going back to the bench and filling in when he gets his chance. He's got it all defensively. Strong, fast, committed, not afraid of a tackle, loves a physical fight with a striker, he's got it all there. But with the ball he's really, really average imo. It'll come with time, though, I'm sure.

His pass selection out of defence is weird. It's like he doesn't know quite what to do yet. Newcastle's first big chance of the second half - the one Wissa scooped wide - came from him nervously rolling it to nobody. It's not a coincidence, I don't think, that our form dropped as soon as Dias and Gvardiol both went off the pitch against Chelsea. We were 1-0 up in that game and heading for 7 wins in 8 when they both got injured.

Dias brings most of Khusanov's defensive qualities (minus the recovery pace) and also has the composure on the ball, and really vital leadership elements, that Khusanov lacks. We had a solid foundation with Dias and Gvardiol and we were really getting somewhere with it, but losing them hit our form really badly. If they'd both avoided those injuries I actually think we'd be ahead of Arsenal in the league right now and starting to think about pulling away.

Backing Khusanov to get there though. He has the quality and potential to be here for 10 years.
 
MCFC1993 said:
Agreed, people rave over his pace but it's usually noticeable because he's dived in and had to recover or he was out of position to begin with.

We have a chance of competing once Dias and Guehi get a few games together.
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And people rave about Dias because he shouts alot, its usually noticeable because he shouts when Donnarumma has made a save after Dias has either played everybody onside or given the ball away because he cant pass. All defenders have their flaws.
 
youngbob said:
I actually think he's a minor problem at the moment. When Dias is back it needs to be him and Guehi together, with Khusanov going back to the bench and filling in when he gets his chance. He's got it all defensively. Strong, fast, committed, not afraid of a tackle, loves a physical fight with a striker, he's got it all there. But with the ball he's really, really average imo. It'll come with time, though, I'm sure.

His pass selection out of defence is weird. It's like he doesn't know quite what to do yet. Newcastle's first big chance of the second half - the one Wissa scooped wide - came from him nervously rolling it to nobody. It's not a coincidence, I don't think, that our form dropped as soon as Dias and Gvardiol both went off the pitch against Chelsea. We were 1-0 up in that game and heading for 7 wins in 8 when they both got injured.

Backing him to get there though. He has the quality and potential to be here for 10 years.
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The Chelsea game is a poor example as Khusanov was superb and his pace and strength pulled us out a few times. You could point to Ake coming on in that being a problem and shocking defending at the end from Nico. Also the usual 2nd half when a team puts it on us and the midfield crumbles.

No problem with Dias coming back in. Experience is all he has over Khus though for me. Passing of Dias is very average i don’t think it would take long for Khusanov to surpass him on that front. Be good to get another reliable centre half back anyway.
 
Craig said:
The Chelsea game is a poor example as Khusanov was superb and his pace and strength pulled us out a few times. You could point to Ake coming on in that being a problem and shocking defending at the end from Nico. Also the usual 2nd half when a team puts it on us and the midfield crumbles.

No problem with Dias coming back in. Experience is all he has over Khus though for me. Passing of Dias is very average i don’t think it would take long for Khusanov to surpass him on that front. Be good to get another reliable centre half back anyway.
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Sorry I didn't mean that Khusanov coming on against Chelsea was the reason we drew 1-1. He was good that day. It was more that we'd found a good rhythm again with Dias and Gvardiol at the back and that losing them at that moment probably rocked us and has sent us on this awkward path of form. It's more to do with us losing them than having to use Khusanov, if that makes sense. Khusanov shouldn't be playing this many games in a row.

I think Khusanov's great for his age - and especially considering he can't verbally communicate with his teammates yet. I'm really looking forward to his future. But asking a 21-year-old Uzbek kid to keep up title race form, all while partnering a 20-year-old who was playing for Watford a few weeks ago, is why we've fallen off in the last few weeks imo. Khusanov should be allowed to mature next to a more experience centre-back at this stage.

Injuries to Gvardiol, Stones, and Dias have prevented that up now.

Khusanov is essentially being asked to replicate Dias' function in the team while babysitting someone who's only a year younger than himself. I think there's a reason he's had his better games individually alongside Ake at CB. Him being the understudy, learning from the behaviours and movements of his older partner, is what he needs. Alleyne isn't really someone he can trust and learn from, so he's dealing with a lot of newfound responsibility.

The same goes for Guehi who will become a leader in time but hasn't been here long enough to be leaned on yet, which is part of why the Spurs game fell apart. Dias knows the patterns Pep wants, knows the game inside out, has it all in his head, and will be able to guide Khusanov through periods of pressure in a way Guehi can't for City just yet. Dias coming back into this team steadies the ship imo - rotating Guehi and Khusanov is fine by me.
 
When we lose momentum he looks like he can still look quite rattled and under pressure. He's got all the attributes to be a beast, but that calmness and composure is still lacking and I think he needs the senior leader alongside him. A few errors on the ball and with his passing in the second half.
 
supercity88 said:
When we lose momentum he looks like he can still look quite rattled and under pressure. He's got all the attributes to be a beast, but that calmness and composure is still lacking and I think he needs the senior leader alongside him. A few errors on the ball and with his passing in the second half.
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He's still only started 13 PL games so that's to be expected.
 
cleavers said:
He didn't do much wrong in his debut after that error either.

Great player for his age.
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Even more than that, the error (and yes it was a bad one) could have made him crumble on his debut, but to play as well as he did after such an error said a lot about his character. And his recovery pace is exceptional and will be a huge benefit to our defence for years to come
 
kippaxchris said:
And people rave about Dias because he shouts alot, its usually noticeable because he shouts when Donnarumma has made a save after Dias has either played everybody onside or given the ball away because he cant pass. All defenders have their flaws.
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We weren't losing control of 2nd halves as much with Dias out there.
 
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