Abdukodir Khusanov assessment provided by Pep Guardiola after Manchester City debut against Chelsea | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued his verdict on the debut of Abdukodir Khusanov against Chelsea on Saturday evening.

The 20-year-old Uzbekistan international has been in the north-west of England for just over a week, but has already had somewhat of a baptism of fire in the nation’s top league and within five minutes of making his bow for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Failing to firmly head a back-pass in the direction of goalkeeper Ederson, Khusanov handed possession directly to Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, who squared the ball to Noni Madueke to give Chelsea the lead inside two minutes at the weekend.

It represented a terrible start to life for the former RC Lens defender, who was recruited as Manchester City’s first investment of the ongoing January transfer window in a deal worth around €40 million.

Speaking to broadcasters after the 3-1 comeback win at the Etihad Stadium, manager Pep Guardiola told reports on the Uzbek international, “It’s not easy for him.

“He trains once and then to play against [Nicolas] Jackson, Cole [Palmer], [Noni] Madueke, [Jadon] Sancho. It’s a process when you buy a player this young. He’ll learn. These kinds of actions are the best lesson you can take.”

Guardiola continued, “He doesn’t speak English so I didn’t speak to him. He’ll be fine. He only made one, two trainings. I didn’t want to push John [Stones] returning from injury with Wednesday’s game [vs Club Brugge].

“The players were together. That was massively important. Any player can make a mistake. The fans always support the new players. He’s so young. He will learn.”

The Manchester City manager was then asked whether he considered substituting the 20-year-old defender inside the opening five minutes against Chelsea as mistakes were starting to mount upon the youngster.

“Well, I have to learn Russian or Uzbek to communicate with him,” Guardiola admitted.

“I made the substitution [in the second-half] for two reasons; mainly for the yellow card. Not for mistakes. Especially I need John [Stones] for Wednesday because [Omar] Marmoush, Khusa, and Vitor [Reis] cannot play.

“And I need John, and John comes from injury and needs a little rhythm, and it was good to play 35, 40 minutes with us because the final we have on Wednesday with our people, John is important.”

Abdukodir Khusanov, alongside his newly-recruited Manchester City teammates Omar Marmoush and Vitor Reis, will have to wait until Sunday afternoon for their next opportunity to take the field for the club, with all three being ineligible against Club Brugge.