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Manchester City have been urged to raise their game in their pursuit for a little-known international target.
Mail Sport reported last week that City are weighing up a move for Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov.
The 20-year-old, who has Champions League experience and 18 caps for Uzbekistan, has also caught the eyes of Tottenham and Newcastle.
And while Lens’ CEO says Khusanov will leave the club, he has warned that no approaches so far have been acceptable. Lens are said to want between £21million and £25m.
‘Khusanov will leave, (but) there haven’t been any good bids yet,’ Lens chief Pierre Dreossi told DAZN.
‘There will be departures and arrivals. We will have more than enough quality players to qualify for Europe.
Manchester City have been told to make a ‘good bid’ for transfer target Abdukodir Khusanov
The Lens star is an Uzbekistan international and the French side are seeking around £25million
Super agent Jorge Mendes, who used to manage Cristiano Ronaldo, is in charge of the deal
Cult hero manager Will Still is in charge of Khusanov at Lens, who are seventh in Ligue 1
‘If he is to leave and if the bids are interesting enough, above all, it’s about finding an economic balance.’
Lens are having another impressive season and sit seventh in Ligue 1 after appointing Will Still as manager in the summer. Still gained fame in 2022 when he was appointed by Reims aged 30, becoming the youngest coach in Europe’s top five leagues.
Khusanov started his career with Energetik-BGU in Belarus but has become an important player for Lens since joining in 2023.
That year he made the rankings for the top 200 most promising youngsters in football, being rated the 15th-most exciting centre-back.
Lens have the second-best defensive record in Ligue 1 this season, having conceded 15 goals in 16 games – only one more than Paris Saint-Germain. Khusanov has helped keep seven clean sheets.
Super agent Jorge Mendes, who used to manage Cristiano Ronaldo, has been put in charge of trying to sell Khusanov, as confirmed by Lens sporting director Pedro Lopez.
‘We decided to do it (give the mandate to Mendes),’ Lopez told L’Equipe
‘We put all the options on the table. We analysed a lot and decided with Pierre (Dréossi, Lens’ CEO) to sign a mandate. It came from an analysis of the internal market, the price of a transfer, and lots of other factors.’
