Manchester Metropolis’s Abdukodir Khusanov has met and introduced Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev with a signed shirt while on worldwide obligation this week.
The 21-year-old has made a powerful begin to life on the Etihad Stadium since becoming a member of from RC Lens for a reported price of £33.6 million plus add-ons in January.
After a horror five-minute spell on his debut towards Chelsea, the Uzbekistan worldwide has established himself as a cult hero amongst the Manchester Metropolis fanbase owing to his fearless, old-school method to defending.
Manchester Metropolis shirt gross sales have seen a big rise since Khusanov’s arrival to the Etihad Stadium – changing into the primary participant from Uzbekistan to play within the Premier League.
Khusanov has performed and impressed in plenty of high-profile video games for Manchester Metropolis since January, main the backline towards Actual Madrid, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool because the Blues grapple with key absences in central defence.
Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake have all confronted their very own health points this season, which has been on the forefront of Pep Guardiola’s troubles along with the absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri owing to an ACL harm since September.
Guardiola has been delighted with the affect Khusanov has made, significantly owing to the mitigating circumstances round his fast-tracked introduction to the first-team – when ideally, a younger defender who continues to be studying English could be regularly phased into the setup.
While on worldwide obligation this week – per week on from his engagement – Khusanov has met with and introduced Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev with a signed Manchester Metropolis shirt.
Manchester Metropolis’s affect in Uzbekistan – which has seen a fast rise since Khusanov’s arrival to the Etihad Stadium – will solely develop additional because the 21-year-old will get extra minutes and establishes him as a stalwart in Guardiola’s backline within the seasons to return.
Khusanov is prone to begin towards Bournemouth within the FA Cup quarter-final when Manchester Metropolis return to motion subsequent week on the finish of the worldwide break.