Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov looks to be a very bright prospect.
The ace signed for the club from Lens in January, as Manchester City sought to sign defensive cover amid a spate of injuries this season.
He arrived as well as Vitor Reis, and the pair could now be seeing a fair bit of involvement between now and the end of the season, with John Stones, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji all injured.
Abdukodir Khusanov endured a nightmare debut against Chelsea, and sadly, that display appears to have stuck with him for a lot of people.
But the youngster has actually recovered really well from that first outing, and recently scooped City’s Player of the Month award for February.
Now, pundit Dion Dublin has given his verdict on Khusanov – and shared the current feeling about the Uzbekistan international behind the scenes at the Etihad Stadium.
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Dion Dublin suggests Man City defender Abdukodir Khusanov is unfairly criticised
Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Khusanov has now made eight appearances for City across all competitions.
The 21-year-old has rather been thrown in at the deep end, but is dealing with changing countries and leagues well on the whole.
For Dion Dublin, there has been unfair criticism of the player, as he shared what the feeling about him is like at City.
Speaking on The Weekend Wrap, Dublin said: “He seems to be the one where the light has been shining on him when it’s gone wrong.
“He’s in the frame all the time. He’s been unlucky, he’s not a bad player, when you speak to people in and around City they say he’s aggressive, he’s good on the ball, he’s quick. He has a lot going for him.”
What Pep Guardiola has said about Abdukodir Khusanov
It is good to hear such comments from Dublin about Khusanov, because the narrative and perception of City’s new defenders needs changing in the media to reflect how he has actually started.
His debut has unfairly tarnished him.
But City fans generally really like what they have seen. Some fans even felt recently that Khusanov could be future captain material.
And Pep Guardiola has also been impressed.
Guardiola recently praised Khusanov, saying of him: “The impact has been really good. We cannot demand for him to do something, like he still needs to do it. But defensively and aggression and the concentration is massive, it’s really good.”