Newcastle United are in the market for a new centre-back to eventually replace Fabian Schar and there’s a certain Ligue 1 talent who has been linked on more than one occasion over the past few weeks.
That is Lens star Abdukodir Khusanov; the 20-year-old defender who moved to the Ligue 1 outfit in 2023 from Belarus club FC Energetik-BGU Minsk, costing just €100k at the time.
He’s gone on to become a regular for the French side despite his young age and AreaNapoli journalist Gianluca Vitale reports that both Newcastle and Wolverhampton Wanderers have been offered the chance to sign him.
This follows last week’s story from The Telegraph, which revealed that both Newcastle and Spurs were showing interest in the centre-back heading into 2025 after sending scouts to watch him.
But this recent story has divulged some further detail, revealing that super-agent Jorge Mendes has been given a mandate to sell Khusanov. While the Uzbek isn’t technically a client of Gestifute – the agency ran by Mendes – he will be able to offer the player to clubs across Europe, using his wide network of connections.
It’s reported that Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli and Real Madrid are the other clubs which have been notified about Khusanov, who will be available to leave his current club for €20-25m. Mendes would get around 10% of any service fee from the transaction, it is thought.
Khusanov unlikely to arrive in January?
Khusanov’s contract is up at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in June 2027, and it’s not clear whether the intention is for him to be sold in the forthcoming January transfer window or in the summer.
From Newcastle’s perspective, the priority is bringing in a right-winger during the winter window. It’s a position that has been neglected and in dire need of improvement – with Miguel Almiron now well past his prime.
PSR has restricted Newcastle so funds will unlikely go towards a centre-back next month at least, particularly with Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman set for a return in the coming months.