An unfortunate set of circumstances has allowed a Manchester City centre-back the opportunity to grow | OneFootball

Manchester City suffered an injury crisis in their defence earlier this month. Injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol altered how Pep Guardiola had to set up his back line. Opportunities arose for Nathan Ake, Max Alleyne and Abdukodir Khusanov to get an sustained run of matches in the City first team. In the case of Khusanov, the opportunity to play regularly has been a blessing and his game is coming on in leaps and bounds. Although there are rough edges of Khusanov’s games to refine, you can see the growth in his game with every match.

Abdukodir Khusanov is growing in every game as we saw against Galatasaray.

Young centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov has now started in Manchester City’s past seven matches. The by-product of the injuries sustained by Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol gifted Khusanov an opportunity to start regularly. It was an opportunity that Khusanov needed to grow as a player. He has seized his opportunity with both hands. Khusanov has all of the attributes to become a top-class centre-back. His pace, strength, timing in a challenge, and ability to physically dominate opponents make him a player who has everything needed to become a quality defender. Playing in Manchester City’s hour of need has aided his development. Proof of this came in Manchester City’s most recent 2-nil win over Galatasaray.

Khusanov embraced the challenge of taking on Galatasaray’s star striker Victor Osimhen head-on. Osimhen is one of the top strikers in European football. He is a clever striker blessed with quality finishing ability, pace, and strength. Victor Osimhen is also an intelligent player whose movement and timing of his runs are exceptional. Khusanov embraced the challenge of taking on one of the premier strikers in Europe. The young centre-back helped keep Osimhen out of the game, outside of one or two occasions when he threatened. Khusanov showed he can deal with such players by putting in a disciplined defensive performance that helped Manchester City pick up a vital win.

Abdukodir Khusanov has the potential to be a top player for Manchester City.

Starting seven consecutive matches has allowed Abdukodir Khusanov to develop as a defender. He isn’t the finished product by any stretch. At times, Khusanov still puts in rash challenges and can dive in recklessly. However, he is improving this aspect of his play. In possession, Khusanov is growing in confidence. Playing on a regular basis has helped him in both of these aspects of his play. Manchester City needed Khusanov to step up in the absence of Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol. The young centre-back has done exactly that.

More importantly, Khusanov has shown that he has the potential to become a key player in Pep Guardiola’s squad. He has always had the potential and talent to become exactly this. Playing regularly has done Khusanov the world of good and you can see him growing before your eyes with every performance. Abdukodir Khusanov isn’t the finished product as a player yet, but you can see where he is headed as a defender across the past seven matches.