Guardiola on Khusanov: He brings qualities we needed at City

In an interview for Manchester City’s official website ahead of the match against Chelsea, manager Pep Guardiola commented on his decision to sign Abdukodir Khusanov, noting the unique qualities the defender brings to the team and explaining that, due to injuries in the defensive line at the start of the season, acquiring Khusanov in the winter transfer window became one of their primary objectives.

Photo: Manchester City FC

"In the summer, we had a meeting with Txiki Begiristain and his staff, discussing players for every position. During that meeting, they mentioned Khusanov," Guardiola said.

"Given the situation with John (Stones), Nathan (Aké), Ruben (Dias), and Manuel (Akanji), we decided to enter the winter transfer market. Many people saw him as a player for the future, because we don’t sign players just for one year – they have big potential ahead of them. Abdukodir has unique qualities that we were missing, which is why we decided to sign him.

He can help us, and I have full confidence in that. Yes, he’s young, and like Vitor, he will continue to grow. It would have been better to prepare with him during the summer camp, but even now, he will be an important player for us.

Khusanov can play as a central defender, both in the middle, on the right wing, or in a three-man defense. He can play in a variety of positions," Guardiola said.

One of Khusanov's standout attributes is his speed. Guardiola believes this will be crucial for defending against counter-attacks, although he also emphasized the need for the team to improve their ball control.

"I don’t think Khusanov’s speed alone will solve everything for us," Guardiola said.

"His speed is certainly important, but our main issue is related to ball control. For instance, in the game against PSG, we ran more than them. We can’t boast about our defensive performance; we are much better when we control the ball. Our movement with the ball has been worse than last year. We need to improve our possession. If we make poor passes, things become much harder. The most important thing in football is what you do with the ball," Guardiola added, as quoted by the club’s media team.

For reference, Manchester City's Premier League match against Chelsea in Round 23 is scheduled for January 25, Saturday, at 22:30. City is in 5th place with 38 points, while Chelsea holds 4th place with 40 points. In the final round of the Champions League group stage, City can secure a spot in the next phase only if they defeat Club Brugge.

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