Manchester City complete deal for Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov | OneFootball

Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov has joined Manchester City on a four-and-a-half-year deal from Ligue 1 club Lens.

The PA news agency understands the fee for the 20-year-old is worth 40 million euros (£33.8m) plus add-ons.

Khusanov is the first player from Uzbekistan to join a Premier League club, and will wear the number 45 shirt.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester City, a club that I have enjoyed watching for a long time.

“This squad is full of the best players in the world, and I can’t wait to meet them and play alongside them.

“And of course Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest coaches ever and I am so excited to learn from him and improve my game even more.

“This is a very proud moment for me and my family to be joining a great club like Manchester City and I’m more than ready for this challenge.”

City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain added: “We are very happy that he has joined us and we are all very excited about what he will bring.

“For such a young defender, Abdukodir is already very intelligent, as well as being strong, aggressive and extremely quick.

“Working with Pep will only make him better and, speaking to him, he is determined to keep improving.

“He is a really exciting signing as we aim to keep progressing to maintain one of the best squads in Europe.”

Khusanov’s deal keeps him at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2029.

He began his professional career in Belarus playing for Energetik-BGU before making the move to Ligue 1 in 2023, where he made 31 appearances for RC Lens.