L’Equipe and others in France have been reporting on Abdukodir Khusanov potentially moving to Manchester City all week.
Given the difficulties the club have had so far this season, and the ground they need to make up in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola will be expecting additions to his Manchester City squad this month.
The Lens defender is very highly rated and has been linked to a number of clubs in recent months. Earlier on Friday, we covered a report from L’Equipe newspaper edition which stated Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur had been interested in the 20-year-old at the beginning of the window.
However, they’ve since walked away from Khusanov because they can’t compete with what Manchester City have been offering to Lens and the player.
On Friday afternoon, L’Equipe report the move is imminent for a fee of around €50m.
Lens manager Will Still has been speaking in a pre-match press conference, and it’s explained he was somewhat jovial when asked about his defender leaving for Manchester City.
Still is quoted as saying: “He is sick. He went home because he is really sick. He was receiving special care this morning with the other players who prepared in the gym like Neil (El-Aynaoui). We are not going to lie to each other. We know that negotiations are underway and that things are moving. There is wind in Kodir’s wings. We are not fooled.
“But he is still here, he is a Lens player. If things move, you will surely know before me. It’s a joke. With social networks, the big journalists know everything before everyone else. (More seriously) If Kodir is available, he will be in the squad and on the pitch in Le Havre.”
