According to the player’s agent, Erik ten Hag prevented Manchester United from signing Manchester City newbie Abdukodir Khusanov while he was in charge.
Man City are January’s biggest spenders as they have invested around £120m on signings. Talented forward Omar Marmoush has joined centre-back pair Khusanov and Vitor Reis in signing for the Premier League side.
Head coach Pep Guardiola has kickstarted a major rebuild as their dire run of form towards the end of 2024 ended their Premier League title hopes.
Man City could also exit the Champions League at the group stage after they surrendered a two-goal lead in their damaging 4-2 loss against Paris Saint-Germain.
Guardiola’s side have been hopeless in defence in recent months, so it’s unsurprising that they have made an effort to strengthen at the back this month.
Man City fended off competition from Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur to sign Khusanov after he emerged as one of the most promising centre-backs in Ligue Un.
His agent – Gairat Khasbiullin – has also revealed that the Red Devils have previously shown interest in the up-and-coming defender and revealed why Ten Hag blocked this transfer.
“Manchester United,” Gairat Khasbiullin responded when asked which club were the “first” to show interest in Khusanov.
“In May 2023, United scout Nicolas Chenalli was in Argentina for the U20 World Cup. After the second match of Uzbekistan at the tournament, he found my contact and wanted to meet.
“I was also in Argentina then, and we thought of meeting in Buenos Aires, but it didn’t work out because of the matches.
“Then it turned out that he stayed in Rosario only for a day and then flew away. I just went out onto the street in Buenos Aires and caught a taxi to Rosario. The driver turned out to be a River Plate fan. All the way we tried to communicate about football through a translator.
“When a Manchester United scout came up and gave him his business card, the driver went nuts: “Who are you anyway?””
MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man Utd breaking news: Marcus Rashford turns up for work again
👉 Man Utd star deemed an ‘absolute imposter’ slammed by pundit – ‘worst player I’ve seen’
👉 Man Utd star learns new ‘serious’ exit option as INEOS ‘face frustration’ with £60m transfer
“[He said] that Khusanov has Manchester United DNA. It was at that moment that I realised that the guy would end up in a top club.
“The scout made a detailed report, but coach Ten Hag said that the defender was not quite ready to help the team at that time.
“Recently we corresponded with that Manchester United scout. He congratulated us on the move to Man City but regretted that the player did not end up at Man United.”
Speaking on Khusanov, Man City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “We are very happy that he has joined us, and we are all very excited about what he will bring.
“For such a young defender, Abdukodir is already very intelligent, as well as being strong, aggressive and extremely quick.
“Working with Pep will only make him better and, speaking to him, he is determined to keep improving.
“He is a really exciting signing as we aim to keep progressing to maintain one of the best squads in Europe.”
