45 | Abdukodir Khusanov - 2025/26

He has exactly what we need right now. Pace and aggression. He is raw but has all the physicality and mentality in the world. His technique and decision making will improve the more he plays. Should be a lock on that right side.

Hopefully in the near future we buy a decent right back and we get to marry beauty and the beast at CB with a Khusanov/Gvardiol pairing.
 
Ultimately you can't teach pace. You can work with players for small gains but you are either stacked with fast twitch muscle fibres or you are not. Challenge is going to be keeping him on the pitch both with the tackles and the risk of injury but as I've said before for me he has to start either at RB or RCB the majority of this season to protect our high line.

Shame about the Lens clause preventing more then 10 games last season, for me we are not going to see the very best of him until next season after he integrates into the team fully but he is a focused RB / RCB. He's a throwback in this current era, though shall not pass, destined to become a cult hero with us and as a very (very) limited RB myself many (many) moons ago I love it! Maybe kids will be out on the parks soon enough saying they want to be the next AK45?

I see him at RB this season moving into the RCB role once his overall situational awareness on the pitch improves and he really starts to read the game, Pep will get him there.
 
Hates the ball. Wants to destroy all balls. He's probably a right back forever now?
 
Love to see someone try the early low crosses to make the defenders and keeper stay honest. Might be best to play him at right back with someone like Cherki or Bobb on the right wing since he doesn't yet have the ability on the ball when there are a lot of bodies around.

Great defending though which is the least we can expect of him.
 
Didn't have much to do defensively but did it well. Reliable passing. Learning how to move and position himself as a RB when we have the ball
 
I don’t really see the issues other people seem to see with him on the ball. He’s no John Stones (who is?) but he actually plays some good progressive passes and rarely gives it away.

What I like most about him is he just has a nose for danger, in the same way that Haaland has a nose for goals. He always seems to be in the perfect place when the opponent’s attack is starting to build up a head of steam, and he snuffs it out at source. I think we’ve been sorely lacking that kind of awareness and it’s really hard to teach (Ake is also really good at it).
 
He’s no worse than Walker on the ball, and has the same physical attributes off it, if not more aggression.

Stays at RB for me, much more solid with him.

Only thing I would say is that when teams park the bus, he needs somebody other than Bernardo to play with on that right hand side because neither of them are getting a decent cross in.
 
Another very steady game. Obviously, it was fairly straightforward following the red but still.
 
Cumbie Blue said:
Ultimately you can't teach pace. You can work with players for small gains but you are either stacked with fast twitch muscle fibres or you are not. Challenge is going to be keeping him on the pitch both with the tackles and the risk of injury but as I've said before for me he has to start either at RB or RCB the majority of this season to protect our high line.

Shame about the Lens clause preventing more then 10 games last season, for me we are not going to see the very best of him until next season after he integrates into the team fully but he is a focused RB / RCB. He's a throwback in this current era, though shall not pass, destined to become a cult hero with us and as a very (very) limited RB myself many (many) moons ago I love it! Maybe kids will be out on the parks soon enough saying they want to be the next AK45?

I see him at RB this season moving into the RCB role once his overall situational awareness on the pitch improves and he really starts to read the game, Pep will get him there.
Click to expand...
What's this Lens clause?

I read a lot of speculation as to why he had been dropped by Pep last season but I've certainly missed that reason.
 
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