Man City confirm £33.5m signing of Abdukodir Khusanov as Pep Guardiola finds defensive 'monster'

Manchester City have completed the £33.5million signing of Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov.

The Uzbekistan international has joined the club on a four-and-a-half-year deal and becomes the club's first signing of the January transfer window, ahead of the imminent arrivals ofdefender Vitor Reis and forward Omar Marmoush.

Pep Guardiola has spoken of the need for City to strengthen their options in the centre of defence and Khusanov makes the move after earning rave reviews for his performances in France and with his best years ahead of him. The 20-year-old moved to Lens 18 months ago from Belarussian side Energetik-BGU and immediately proved his worth in Ligue 1, with former Lens goalkeeper Brice Samba describing him as a 'monster' at the back.

Speaking after his move to City was confirmed, Khusanov said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester City, a club that I have enjoyed watching for a long time. 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.”

Sporting director Txiki Begiristain added: “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