Manchester City had a bit of a frantic January – but the signing of Abdukodir Khusanov looks to be a stroke of genius.
Manchester City fell to defeat against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, losing 1-0 at the City Ground.
It was a damaging loss, with City slipping out of the top four after Chelsea beat Leicester City on Sunday.
City have a real battle on their hands to secure Champions League football for next season and simply put, Pep Guardiola has work to do to make that happen.
City continue to look shaky, especially on the transition.
The backline has been put under pressure often this term with the midfield struggling to provide suitable protection.
That said, that backline has looked better since the arrival of Abdukodir Khusanov, who was the subject of some nice praise from Guardiola on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola hails Abdukodir Khusanov after Man City defeat to Nottingham Forest
Unfortunately, there are still some people whose judgment of Khusanov is clouded by his difficult debut against Chelsea.
Khusanov had a first game to forget against the Blues at the Etihad Stadium and since then, he’s been seen by many as a player out of his depth.
But this just hasn’t been the case, and Khusanov’s performances recently landed him the Player of the Month award at City.
Khusanov has been appreciated by those who watch him every week though. Some Man City fans even touted Khusanov to be a future captain recently.
On Saturday, he was brilliant once again despite the defeat to Forest, and after the game, Guardiola was effusive in his praise.
He said: “The impact has been really good. We cannot demand for him to do something, like he still needs to do it. But defensively and aggression and the concentration is massive, it’s really good.”
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Khusanov’s impressive stats vs Nottingham Forest
After his tough debut against Chelsea, it is extremely satisfying to see Khusanov now playing really well.
It clearly shows he has a great mentality. Not many players would have come back so strongly after such a first outing.
But Khusanov really has excelled in a City shirt since that first appearance – and his statistics against Forest were very impressive.
The youngster was very tidy on the ball, completing 65/71 (92%). He also had 84 touches, indicating his teammates now really trust him. Only Josko Gvardiol (120) and Ruben Dias (104) had more.
| Abdukodir Khusanov vs Nottingham Forest |
| Minutes played – 90+ |
| Touches – 84 |
| Passes completed – 65/71 (92%) |
| Duels won – 3/5 (60%) |
| Clearances – 5 |
| Blocks – 2 |
| Interceptions – 2 |
| Tackles – 1 |
Khusanov – who cost City just under £34 million from Lens, with add-ons to come (Guardian) – has been proving himself as a rock-solid defender in recent weeks, and against Forest that was the case again.
He finished the game with a whopping 10 defensive actions – five clearances, two blocks, two interceptions, and one tackle. No City player had more than 10, with Gvardiol making the next most with six.
With the likes of Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and John Stones all out injured, it looks like Khusanov will be getting plenty of chances to play, and that is exciting. Hopefully, he can continue on the trajectory he’s been on.
