Manchester City have signed Uzbekistan international defender Abdukodir Khusanov from French side Lens, the club announced on Monday.
The 20-year-old has agreed a four-and-a-half-year deal that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2029.
The central defender has won 18 caps for Uzbekistan and becomes the first player from his country to play in the Premier League.
Khusanov, who will wear the number 45 for City, began his professional career in Belarus playing for Energetik-BGU, before making the move to Ligue 1 in 2023, making 31 appearances for RC Lens.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester City, a club that I have enjoyed watching for a long time,” said Khusanov. “This is one of the best teams in the world and I've come here to win trophies.
“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 said: “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.”
After he signed for Lens, the club's then head coach Franck Haise was full of praise after giving Khusanov some run-outs in pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2023/24 season, including a few minutes in a prestige game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“We have a 19-year-old who looks more like a player of 25 when he’s on the pitch,” said Haise.
“What we saw in him were things we hadn’t expected in someone so young in his position. He’s tough, he’s calm, he reads the game well and knows how to use the ball.”
After a recent run of poor form, Manchester City moved back up to fourth place in the Premier League with a 6-0 thrashing of Ipswich at Portman Road on Sunday.
Guardiola's side travel to Paris to face PSG in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.
