The signing of 20-year-old defender Abdukodir Khusanov has been confirmed by Manchester City.

The budding sensation will become the first Uzbek to play in the Premier League after joining in a move reportedly worth £34 million.

Khusanov, 20, is coming to the Etihad to strengthen Pep Guardiola’s defense after having an incredible season in Ligue 1.

He signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with City that would last until 2029.

The new No. 45 stated: “I’ve been a longtime fan of Manchester City, so I’m thrilled to be joining them.

“The greatest players in the world are on this team, and I am so excited to meet and play with them.

Pep Guardiola is undoubtedly one of the best managers of all time, and I can’t wait to pick his brain and advance my skills even more.

“Joining a fantastic team like Manchester City makes my family and I extremely proud, and I’m more than up to the challenge.”

“We are thrilled that he has joined us, and we are all very excited about what he will bring,” said Txiki Begiristain, director of football.

Abdukodir is already incredibly smart for a young defender, and he’s also powerful, aggressive, and incredibly fast.

Working with Pep will only help him get better, and he is committed to continuing to get better, according to him.

“We want to keep improving so we have one of the best teams in Europe, and he is a really exciting addition.”

In 2022, Khusanov left his own country at the age of 18 to join the Belarusian team Energetik-BGU.

He signed a contract with Lens in July 2023 for £84,000 less than 18 months later, and he has now moved on 400 times that amount, having only made a name for himself as a first-team regular starter this season.

The defender has excelled as an aggressive center-back under Will Still’s tutelage, leading his manager to say, “Kodir is a tank.”

He is a physical specimen who is tall, strong, powerful, and incredibly fast.

His season-high speed of 37 km/h is really only below the average of 37.58 km/h established by Usain Bolt to set the world record for the 100-meter sprint.

His lack of experience—just 24 Ligue 1 matches and two in the Champions League—and language barrier may be obstacles as he adjusts to a new team that is eager for him to make an immediate impact. He is also not the best with the ball at his feet.

With a 6-0 thrashing against Ipswich to go five games undefeated in the Premier League, City has partly stopped the rot, but they are still 12 points behind leaders Liverpool and appear to be out of the running for the championship.

However, they are still in the FA Cup and will attempt to make it to the Champions League play-off round.

With City playing PSG and Chelsea this week, Khusanov would not have to wait long to be thrown into the deep end.