'Very close' - Agent & Eddie Howe confirm Newcastle United transfer talks ahead of £33m Premier League move
Abdukodir Khusanov’s agent has claimed Newcastle United were ‘very close’ to a deal for the defender prior to his move to Manchester City.
The 20-year-old defender joined Man City for £33million from Lens earlier this week after serious interest from Newcastle. Khusanov’s agent Gairat Khasbiullin revealed The Magpies’ interest in his client prior to striking a deal with City.
But like many of Newcastle’s recent transfer pursuits (see Marc Guehi) the financial side of the deal as well as the timing proved to be a sticking point. Despite minimal spending in the last three transfer windows, various sources at Newcastle claim that Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules continue to significantly restrict the club’s ability to do business.
Khasbiullin said: “Newcastle were very close to the deal. They even remained one of the favourites [to sign him], and then was the last to leave the race with City. As far as I understand, financial fair play also had an impact.
“They didn’t have enough time. Perhaps if they had made an offer earlier, they would have had time to come to an agreement. Then City put so much pressure on Lens that it was difficult to make a comparable offer. It was also influenced by the fact that the French needed this money.”
Khusanov becomes the first Uzbek player to play in the Premier League and joins Man City having made 31 appearances for Lens after joining the Ligue 1 club from Belarusian side Energetik-BGU in 2023. But the youngster’s debut was an unfortunately one for Manchester City over the weekend as he was thrown in from the start.
Khusanov was at fault for Chelsea’s opener before City turned the game around to win 3-1.
When asked about the talks with Khusanov’s agent, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe revealed: “We have identified players that we would like to sign. We have spoken to the representatives because you have to do the process right.
“If something happens and we are able to recruit, you can't then start from zero. We are seeing players that we identified, liked and targeted move to other clubs, but that's always part of the game.”
Despite the talks, Howe also stressed that Newcastle are not active in the transfer market when it comes to signing players.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve got to say it,” he said. “You never say never, I don’t want people playing this back to me saying I lied, but at this moment we have not been active in terms of incomings.
“I’m certainly not lying. I would never intentionally lie to the supporters or anybody. We are not in a position to be active in the market as we sit here now. That might change if something happens [in terms of outgoings].”
Newcastle are understood to have agreed a deal with Atlanta United that will see Miguel Almiron return to his former club - but personal terms are yet to be agreed. The winter transfer window remains open for Newcastle to sign players until 11pm on Monday, February 3.