Pep Guardiola is on the verge of tearing up his January plans and pushing through a move for Abdukodir Khusanov this month.
Guardiola is facing a major injury crisis in defence, with at least one of Manchester City's four established centre-backs missing for the last 14 games. That coincided with a terrible form.
The reigning Premier League champions won just two games in that period and dropped to sixth place in the table. They are now fourteen points behind leaders Liverpool, who also have a game ahead.
The January transfer window offers Guardiola the opportunity to strengthen his creaking squad. And it appears the embattled boss has made signing defenders a top priority over the next month.
According to the Manchester Evening News, City are considering accelerating their plans to sign Khusanov. The 20-year-old has had a successful season with Lens after joining the French side in 2023.
He is the first Uzbek to play in Ligue 1 and the youngest to play in the Champions League and Europa League. His performances in France have caught the attention of City, who view him as a future prospect.
Guardiola has never signed a first-team player as young as Khusanov, with Josko Gvardiol the youngest at 21. But with a major injury crisis, City could well change their strategy.
Khusanov is believed to be attracting interest from other top clubs and could cost around £20 million to land. City are 'definitely interested' and could change their view on buying him in January.
It would mark something of a turnaround for Guardiola, who claimed just a fortnight ago that he was expected to have a quiet window. Asked whether he plans to sign anyone in January, Guardiola said: “No. What I want is for my players to come back, the players we have.”
“I want the team we had at the start of the season who were competing desperately. This is the only regret I have, not having these players – not new ones. At the right time we will see. “
“The transfer market has shown in the last four or five years how expensive players are. I'm sorry, we are not the best in that area. If we need players we go to the transfer market, but I don't know.” who is around.
“We know it from the start, but Rodri is a Ballon D'Or player. We played last season without the best player in England. That's the problem. It's difficult. The moment he comes back, we will be strong again are.” .”
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