Manchester City had a disappointing February, losing to Arsenal, Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, being eliminated from the Champions League, and losing to Premier League leaders Liverpool.
However, one bright spot in a disappointing month for City fans is the arrival of new signing Abdukodir Khusanov. Despite a disastrous start against Chelsea, in which Khusanov made some fatal blunders barely minutes in, the kid has demonstrated the ability to recover with some strong performances. According To Manchester Evening News.
It is unusual for a City acquisition to be thrown into the deep end; even the legendary Rodri needed a season to adjust to a Pep Guardiola side. However, City’s injury crisis prevented them from affording Khusanov such a luxury.
Since joining Lens for £33.5 million, Khusanov has faced Alexander Isak, Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Jr, Mohamed Salah, Rodrygo, and Cole Palmer.
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That’s an intense introduction to football at the greatest level for any player, let alone a 20-year-old who had only made 31 appearances for a club in one of Europe’s top five divisions before joining City.
After Khusanov’s forgettable debut, Guardiola could have easily concluded that, despite an ongoing injury crisis, it was too soon for his youthful signing and relegated him to a backup role until the conclusion of the season. Instead, he’s given Khusanov the start in City’s most difficult stretch of the season thus far.
The kid impressed against Isak, perhaps the most in-form striker in the country, as City defeated Newcastle 4-0. He then made an impressive European debut against reigning European champions Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Despite the loss to Liverpool, he and Jeremy Doku were among City’s best players on Sunday.
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