Following a serious crisis last season, Manchester City has embarked on a radical restructuring of its squad during the two 2025 transfer window. The change of generations, which began with the arrival of Abdukodir Khusanov on January 20, has not yet been fully completed, but at the same time, a new competition is being formed in the team for important positions.
With the start of the new season, it became clear that the most challenging aspect of Pep Guardiola's team was right-wing defense. After Kyle Walker's departure, finding a player who could cover this position at a universal level became a serious problem for the club.
Although Rico Lewis and Mateusz Nunes were listed as wing-backs in the score, in reality, both were formed as midfielders. The matches at the start of the season revealed their weaknesses in defense. Experts have repeatedly emphasized this aspect.
Under these circumstances, Guardiola entrusted Abduqodir Husanov with the task of closing the right wing. The 21-year-old Uzbek footballer, despite being a central defender by nature, made a bright impression by being able to play confidently on the wing. He attracted the attention of the coaching staff with his timely choice of the right location in several important matches, mental stability, and not making mistakes even in difficult situations.
However, the injuries disrupted Husanov's inertia, and his falling out of rhythm also affected the number of games. Additionally, it was noticeable that tasks such as starting attacks from the wing and quickly moving forward created more difficulty for him compared to central defense.
Guardiola previously stated that the right-back issue during the winter transfer window depends on Abduqodir's performance after returning from injury. So far, after his return, he only played in one match in the English League Cup and was not included in the squad for some matches.
Now City is once again considering the possibility of acquiring a new player for the right wing. According to journalist Ben Jacobs, the club has resumed discussions about Newcastle player Tino Livramento.
The 23-year-old Livramento began his career at Chelsea's academy, later becoming a first-team player at Southampton, and moved to Newcastle two years ago for €37.2 million. The current price is around €40 million, which is a completely realistic amount for City.
Nevertheless, Mateusz Nunes remains the main competitor on the right wing this season. It is expected that Abdukodir Khusanov will make serious efforts to regain this position after fully regaining his form.
He has an important opportunity until the end of the season: adapting his experience as a central defender, speed, proper sense of the pitch, and ability to make accurate passes to the right wing. If he can complete this task, he can gain an advantage in the competition within the team.
After all, it's common for a grand club like Manchester City to have several strong opponents for a single position. The consistency of internal competition requires maximum effort from each player.
We hope that Abdukodir Khusanov, with his unique will, diligence, and technical qualities, will courageously pass this test and further strengthen his position in the team.
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