It is fair to say that this season has not gone to plan for Manchester City as they are fighting to avoid a trophyless campaign by winning the FA Cup.
They are 20 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League table, with 11 matches to play, and have already been knocked out of the League Cup and the Champions League.
Defending has been an issue for the Cityzens. They have already conceded 37 times in 27 league games this season, after only conceding 34 in 38 last term.
Their defensive issues may make some wonder what might have happened if City had managed to strike a deal for reported target William Saliba back in 2019.
Saliba was one that got away for Man City
The Sun reported in 2019 that Manchester City were interested in a deal to sign the defender from Saint-Etienne and that Arsenal were worried that they could lose the race for the £25m-rated star because of that interest.
Saliba eventually signed for the Gunners and went out on loan to Saint-Etienne, Nice, and Marseille before his emergence as a regular for Arsenal in the 2022/23 campaign.
He has made the PFA Team of the Year, as one of the chosen centre-backs, in both of his seasons in the Premier League, in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns.
Arsenal only conceded 29 goals in the Premier League last season and have conceded 23 so far this term, which suggests that Saliba has been a big part of a better defence than Man City’s over the past 18 months.
Pep Guardiola, however, now has the chance to unearth his own version of Saliba after City signed Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens for a reported fee of £33.6m in the January window.
Man City now have their own William Saliba in the making
Like the Arsenal star, the Uzbekistan international has arrived in England as a young centre-back from Ligue 1, with the potential to become a star in the Premier League.
Talent scout Jacek Kulig claimed that Khusanov, who he also once described as “tenacious”, will be a “future GOAT” of football in his country, which speaks to his immense potential.
The 21-year-old talent made a nightmarish start to life at City with a poor header back that went straight to Nicolas Jackson, who assisted Noni Madueke for the opening goal, after three minutes.
Khusanov, as shown in the clips above, has bounced back after that early error and has showcased all the qualities that City signed him for, including his terrific recovery pace – akin to Saliba’s at Arsenal.
The young defender has started three Premier League games since his horrorshow debut against Chelsea and the way he has recovered from that start has been admirable.
Starts
3
Clearances
15
Clean sheets
2
Dribbled past
1x
Error led to shot/goal
0
Ground duels won
5/9
Pass accuracy
92%
As you can see in the table above, Khusanov has helped the team to keep two clean sheets in three matches whilst being incredibly reliable on the ball.
Like Saliba, the former Lens man has come over from Ligue 1 to showcase his physical qualities – his pace – as well as his ability on and off the ball.
Guardiola will now be hoping that Khusanov can continue to shine, whilst developing as he gains more experience in England, to eventually become as good as Saliba and a candidate to make future PFA Team of the Years for City.
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