Leeds United reportedly made the initial transfer bid to Lens to sign Abdukodir Khusanov before Manchester City made a move for the central defender.
Gayrat Khasbiullin, Abdukodir Khusanov’s agent, has stated why his client plays for Manchester City instead of Leeds United.
Khusanov, 20, made his Premier League debut for Manchester City against Chelsea, and his error set up the game’s first goal after three minutes. The defender was given a yellow card 60 seconds later for taking down Cole Palmer after making a botched ball out of the back.
Not even 10 minutes into the second half, Pep Guardiola replaced the rookie with John Stones off the bench. Despite his new club’s 3-1 victory, the debut of the first Uzbek player in the top flight was far from ideal.
Khusanov might have became the first Uzbek to play in the Championship, with reports late last year claiming Leeds offered Lens approximately £17 million to sign him. According to French outlet Top Mercato, they were the first team to bid on the midfielder before Manchester City spent nearly twice as much this month.
However, the player’s agent has stated that the reigning Premier League champions held conversations with Lens prior to any bid from Leeds. When asked when the interest from Manchester City first surfaced, Khasbiullin replied, “We heard about scouts in late November 2024.” Lens stated that City was actively interested.
“Serious conversations started in early December. In total, approximately 12 Premier League clubs expressed interest. It was obvious that City would be among them.
“Also, not all teams could afford to make an offer right now because of financial fair play rules. City did not have this issue, therefore they swiftly persuaded Lens to pay €40 million (£33.78 million) plus €10 million (£8.45 million) in bonuses. All that remained was to agree with us.
