Yahoo Sports 'Tank', 'train' & 'monster' - the rise of Man City's Khusanov
In the age of social media and endless football coverage, it is not often a player arrives at a club as a relatively unknown quantity.
In that sense, Manchester City's signing of Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov is a throwback to a bygone time.
Khusanov, 20, completed a £33.6m move from French club RC Lens on Monday and is set to become the first player from his nation to play in the Premier League.
Though the centre-back has much of his career ahead of him, the move caps a remarkable rise. In fewer than four years, the young defender has overcome rejection in his homeland to become one of the game's most exciting prospects.
'Nobody knew of him'
Khusanov began his football journey at the age of seven when he joined the academy of Tashkent-based club Bunyodkor. He immediately started playing with boys two years his senior, such was his talent and ability to play across the pitch.
However, at 17 the club decided he was not strong or physical enough to warrant anything more than a place in the third-tier reserve team. Khusanov's father, former Uzbekistan international Hukmat Hoshimov, decided to look for alternative options.
That option came in the form of Belarusian side Energetik-BGU, a small club from Minsk.
The club persuaded Khusanov to join despite the fact he would have to wait a year to make his debut. In Belarus, players cannot sign professional contracts until they turn 18.
Once eligible to play, Khusanov's impact was immediate. By now only playing at centre-back, Khusanov helped Energetik-BGU achieve an improbable second-place finish in the Belarusian top flight in 2022.
While Khusanov's development was barely noticed by fans back home, his next move was linked to his exploits with the Uzbekistan national team. A late call-up to the squad for the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup in March 2023, Khusanov played every minute as his side won a historic title.
Uzbekistan qualified for the Under-20 World Cup in May 2023 as a result, where Lens' scouting manager, Baptiste Favier, watched him as the White Wolves reached the round of 16. In July that year Lens signed him for just £84,000.
"Nobody knew of him when he arrived at Lens," says Luke Entwistle, editor-in-chief of Get French Football News. "He was a massively unknown quantity. He didn't play too much in his first season, but when he did get his chance in the back three, you immediately saw something quite special in him."
This campaign Khusanov has disrupted a settled backline of Jonathan Gradit, Kevin Danso and Facundo Medina to make 13 appearances in Ligue 1, 11 of them starts.
"If Khusanov came from a top league, he would have cost €100m," Danso said, while former Lens goalkeeper Brice Samba said: "He has shaken up the hierarchy in our defence. He is destined for a great future."
Such is the confidence that Khusanov will become one of the best players in the world, Lens have kept a signed match-worn shirt of his for their club collection. It is a practice reserved for only the greatest players to pass through the club.
Tanks, trains and monsters
There is a reason why Samba described Khusanov as a "monster", Lens manager Will Still dubbed him a "tank", and why back home he has earned the nickname The Train.
"He's a powerful defender known for his strong interceptions, aerial ability, and aggressive style," says Thomas Bullock, journalist and Central Asian researcher for Football Manager.
"He's solid on the ball, but his pace is his standout quality, allowing him to recover quickly and track fast attackers."
Entwistle added: "He likes to push up and apply pressure into the midfield. He's strong in his duels, he's never half-hearted. He's an extremely athletic player."
In the Uzbek language, Abdukodir means 'almighty'. Whether a remarkable piece of foresight from his parents or simply fate, the name could not be more appropriate.
That said, Khusanov will not be a quick fix for a City defence that has developed a habit of collapsing at key moments. The 20-year-old can create problems for himself by over-committing to challenges, while at Lens he has not been required to be the main ball-progressing defender.
"He's a raw profile who needs ironing out," says Entwistle. "He's an unpolished diamond, but one worth taking a punt on because the finer details and tactical understanding can be improved by Pep Guardiola. Forty million euros could look like peanuts in a decade's time."
Speaking on the BBC 5 Live Euro Leagues podcast, French football journalist Julien Laurens said: "He is very talented but City are buying the potential. He is not ready to start every week. City hope they are getting the centre-back of the future."
The rise of Uzbek football
While it would be romantic to say Khusanov is forging a path for more Uzbeks to play in Europe's top leagues, that process has been long under way in the former Soviet state.
Over the past decade there has been a "huge investment in footballing infrastructure, including better pitches, stadiums and requirements for teams to have youth academies," says Uzbek football expert Conor Bowers.
Bunyodkor, the club whose academy produced Khusanov, benefitted greatly from the funding of Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan's former dictator Islam Karimov. After winning a league and cup double in just their third year of existence, the club started attracting the nation's best young talents thanks to its multi-million-pound facilities.
In 2021, a new club named Olimpik Toshkent was formed solely with the aim of preparing players for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The under-23 side reached the final of the 2024 Under-23 Asian Cup and then lost narrowly at the Games to more established footballing nations Spain and Egypt - 2-1 and 1-0 respectively.
"Khusanov's emergence was only a matter of time," says Asian football broadcaster Dez Corkhill. "He's the best of the lot - but expect more as well."
With young talents like Khusanov and CSKA Moscow's Abbos Fayzullaev, as well as Muhammadli Urinboev - who was in Brentford's youth team last season - and Lazizbek Mirsazev of La Liga's Leganes impressing for the youth teams, it is perhaps no surprise Uzbekistan are second in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group and on course to make their first appearance at the finals.
"It was a dream for every Uzbek a few years ago," says SPORTS.uz journalist Suhrob Xolbekov on an Uzbek player reaching the Premier League. "It was common to laugh at Uzbek football - now Khusanov has destroyed this."
