Manchester City are ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United in the race to sign RC Lens’ Abdukodir Khusanov in the winter market.
The defender made 16 appearances this season and has been one of the standout players for the Ligue 1 side.
His performances have seen Manchester City, Tottenham, Newcastle and other clubs take notice.
That’s according to L’Equipe, who say Tottenham and Newcastle were ‘very interested’ in the 20-year-old at the start of this window.
Spurs and Eddie Howe’s side have ‘thrown in the towel’ in the last few hours because of the tough competition from Manchester City.
Citizens sporting director Txiki Begiristain has informally mentioned concrete talks with Khusanov’s entourage, and his side are discussing the figures. At this moment in time, the French club haven’t received any offers for their star player.
Lens have given super-agent Jorge Mendes a mandate to get a convincing offer for the Uzbekistan international and the report claims they aren’t willing to let him leave for less than €40m.
Pep Guardiola’s side are inclined to meet Lens’ request and L’Equipe suggest their bid could arrive this weekend. They are also working on signing Palmeiras centre-back Vitor Reis and this deal will not impact their efforts to sign the Lens defender.
In short, Manchester City are set to beat both Tottenham and Newcastle to Khusanov’s signature.
