Abdukodir Khusanov’s life at Manchester City has got off to a tough start.
The 21-year-old completed a £33m move to the Etihad Stadium from Lens in January and immediately realised the difference between football in Ligue 1 and the Premier League.
The centre-back has featured for Man City nine times since joining Pep Guardiola’s squad at the start of the year, however, the youngster has not featured in any of the Manchester club’s last six Premier League games, which has fans asking questions.
Roy Keane believes Khusanov will be fine after his tough start to life at Man City and some of the reasons for it have now been explained.
Abdukodir Khusanov did not train for a month
Dion Dublin recently stated that Man City have been impressed with Khusanov behind the scenes as the 21-year-old continues to settle in amongst his new surroundings.
Khusanov has become friends with Vitor Reis and that is a partnership City fans could see a lot in the future as the Uzbekistan international works towards being ready for next season.
With regards to the current campaign, the Daily Mail has explained some of the reasons for the youngster’s tough start to life in Manchester, with it being reported that the centre-back hadn’t trained for a whole month before moving to the Etihad Stadium.
This was a result of a winter break in France and then not being with Will Still’s group as a transfer to Man City edged closer. The player is said to have had one proper session before his tough debut against Chelsea, in which he recovered exceptionally well after a tricky start.
In addition to this, Nico O’Reilly’s emergence at left back and Josko Gvardiol forming this strong partnership with Ruben Dias has resulted in Guardiola sticking with a back four that he is comfortable with, which in turn has affected Khusanov’s minutes.
A solid pre-season will do the youngster the world of good ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, and the best thing for the 21-year-old right now is to simply watch and learn.
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Abdukodir Khusanov’s tough debut vs Chelsea
Khusanov was thrown into the deep end after he completed his move to Man City in January, with the youngster making his debut immediately against Chelsea.
The centre-back got off to a horror start as the youngster made a huge error that led to the London club taking the lead early on in the contest, while picking up a yellow card shortly after, resulting in the defender being subbed by Guardiola after 54 minutes.
With Guardiola settled on his back four for the rest of the season, this is a good thing for Khusanov as it allows him time to learn English and take on board what Guardiola expects from him heading into next season.
The 21-year-old is undoubtedly a big talent, which Man City’s recruitment team are aware of, and it is just a matter of time before Khusanov’s situation in Manchester improves.
