Manchester City won't be winning the Premier League title for the fifth season in a row after yet another league defeat over the weekend, this time to high-flying Nottingham Forest.
Pep Guardiola has never quite endured a campaign like this one, although he did make a few signings in January that could see the club return to their best next term.
Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov all arrived at the Etihad, with City spending close to £190m in the process.
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Combined with their current crop of young talent, the club could be set for another wonderful era with some rising stars...
Man City's best rising stars
The January signings have added some much-needed quality to a stagnant City side which could give them a boost between now and the end of the season.
Rico Lewis is certainly proving his worth at the club, making 36 appearances in all competitions this term, and he looks like the perfect replacement for Kyle Walker at right-back.
Rico Lewis
Savinho has proved his worth countless times since joining from Troyes last summer. The Brazilian has registered 11 goal contributions in what has been a solid debut campaign but still needs to take himself to the next level, adding more goals to his game.
Elsewhere, James McAtee finally looks ready to take his game on, scoring six goals in just 21 matches for the club. He may soon be replaced by 19-year-old new signing Claudio Echeverri, though, who looks like one of the hottest talents to come out of South America in recent years.
Eccheverri-Man-City-Premier-League
That being said, could it be the signing of Abdukodir Khusanov that goes on to become the finest youngster at the club?
Why Abdukodir Khusanov could become world-class at Man City
After a dismal few months, Guardiola knew some freshness was needed in order to give his squad a boost heading into the second half of the season.
With Manuel Akanji and John Stones suffering from injury problems, bolstering the defence was crucial. Reis is certainly someone who could become a key player for the club in the future.
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In the meantime, it is Khusanov who has slotted into the City backline with ease, overcoming a rocky debut against Chelsea.
No doubt proud of his development, the 21-year-old became the first Uzbekistan-born player to feature in the Premier League, costing the club £33.5m from French side Lens.
Since that first outing against Enzo Maresca's men, judging by his performances, he could very well turn out to be one of Guardiola’s most important signings for City.
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The centre-back had only made 31 appearances for the Ligue 1 side before City pounced and secured his signature during the transfer window, but his quality was obvious.
During the first half of the season in the French top flight, the youngster ranked in the top 1% for interceptions (2.4) and in the top 17% for aerials won (2.49) per 90 when compared to his positional peers.
Khusanov's PL stats for Man City (Per 90)
Accurate passes
Tackles
Interceptions
Total duels won
Ball recoveries
Clearances
Via Sofascore
Since joining City, Khusanov has played seven times, scoring against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup and he looks the part at the heart of the club’s defence.
Writer Alex Barker wrote on X that Khusanov’s physicality is “frightening” and, despite being aged only 21 and featuring in five Premier League games, the Uzbeki international has managed to showcase his talents already.
Across these five top-flight matches, the former Lens starlet has averaged a 92% pass success rate, along with recovering 4.8 balls, making one tackle and winning 57% of his aerial duels per game for City. To put those numbers into context, William Saliba has won 61% of his aerial duels and completed 94% of his passes. Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk has succeeded with 92% of his passes and won a whopping 71% of his aerial duels.
William-Saliba-Arsenal
Thus, you can clearly see that Khusanov is on the right path and has made an impressive start to life in England. Now, the next few weeks will allow him to play without too much pressure, especially as the league title will elude the club for the first time since 2020.
This could give Khusanov a chance to continually impress, which could make a huge difference to the club for the 2025/26 campaign.
There is no doubt that the 21-year-old could turn into one of the finest defenders in the world, especially if he continues his recent meteoric rise.
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