Club director confirms star player will leave this month amid growing Manchester City transfer interest

Manchester City fans have been granted fresh optimism over their chances of seeing a new defensive name enter the squad during the January market.

Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff have faced a multitude of fitness and injury problems throughout the course of the season, particularly affecting their defensive options and the go-to names at the centre of the rearguard.

At one stage of the season, Pep Guardiola was without all of his mainstay central defenders, forcing him to turn to the likes of Academy graduate Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Kyle Walker as centre-backs against Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League.

As such, there has seemingly been an awareness emerge from within the club to recruit in the position, and that is where the profile of Lens’ exciting young defender in Abdukodir Khusanov has come to the fore.

Reports in recent days have insisted that Manchester City are maintaining a dialogue with the French side over a possible deal for the player, and aware of the numbers and financials that would be required to sign the Uzbekistan star.

Now, speaking to DAZN before Lens’ latest Ligue 1 game against Toulouse this weekend, the club’s managing director Pierre Dréossi admitted his belief that Abdukodir Khusanov would leave the French side this month.

“(Abdukodir) Khusanov will leave, there haven’t been any good bids yet,” Dréossi made clear during a pre-match conversation, before indicating further movement from the French side across the course of this month.

He continued,”There will be departures and arrivals. We will have more than enough quality players to qualify for Europe.”

Pierre Dréossi has also insisted on the importance of transfer business out of Lens in order to ensure the financial stability of the organisation as he explained, “If he is to leave and if the bids are interesting enough, above all, it’s about finding an economic balance.”

It remains to be seen whether Manchester City would integrate the youngster directly into their first-team system for the remainder of the season and beyond, although their recent issues would point towards that plan coming to fruition should a deal be struck.