Lens make official Khusanov statement after Man City agreement

Tom Weber

Updated: 11 Jan 2025 13:43 CST
3 min read

Abdukodir Khusanov, RC Lens, 2024/25 — © IMAGO

RC Lens have announced that Abdukodir Khusanov will not take part in their match against Le Havre as he gears up for his big-money transfer to Manchester City.

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The Uzbek international's insane rise to fame is close to culminating in a blockbuster move to the reigning Premier League champions. Not long ago, Khusanov was plying his trade in Belarus and now he is on the verge of a €40 million transfer.

On Friday, various sources revealed that Man City had officially struck a deal with Lens for the 20-year-old, who will reinforce Pep Guardiola's side immediately. Personal terms have not been an issue and the only thing left to be completed is his medical.

Already earlier that day, Lens boss Will Still all but confirmed that Khusanov was set to leave the club shortly. “He’s sick,” Still said. “He was in the gym today with others.

"But we’re not going to lie to each other. We know that there are negotiations in progress, that things are moving. We’re not fooled. For the moment, he’s still here, and if things are to move, you’ll probably know about them before me.

“He went home because he’s really sick. If he’s available, he’ll be in the squad against Le Havre.”

Khusanov not in Lens squad

Lens have now officially revealed their squad for Sunday's clash with Le Havre and, unsurprisingly, Khusanov won't feature, having not participated in training in recent days.

While surely down to his sickness, Khusanov perhaps would also not have featured had he been cleared to play to minimise the risk of a potential injury.

Lens have long since resigned themselves to losing Khusanov due to the simple fact that the club needs money. In December, sporting director Diego Lopez announced that superagent Jorge Mendes had been mandated to sell the Uzbek international.

As for Man City, after snapping up Khusanov, they will try to wrap up deals for Omar Marmoush and Vitor Reis. Unlike Khusanov, the former actually did feature this weekend, starting and scoring for Eintracht Frankfurt against St. Pauli ahead of his expected €80m move.