Leeds United target rated best in the world in his position in CIES rankings

Add as preferred source on Google

Championship challengers Leeds United have seldom lacked ambition in the transfer market.

Barely a window went by in the Andrea Radrizzani era without the former Elland Road chairman attempting to lure household names from Edinson Cavani to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or sub-elite talents such as Nicolo Zaniolo and Federico Chiesa, to West Yorkshire.

And while Radrizzani may be a thing of the past these days, Leeds United’s second-tier status is clearly not putting them off from throwing their proverbial hat into the ring for one of the most sought-after defenders in European football.

Leeds’ pursuit of Daniel Farke favourite Nico Elvedi could be considered a little ambitious. The Switzerland international would have to swap Bundesliga football with Borussia Monchengladbach for Championship action in England, after all.

But compared to their somewhat pie-in-the-sky pursuit of Abdukodir Khusanov, signing Elvedi seems positively simple.

Leeds United linked Abdukodir Khusanov rated as world’s best

TBR Football reported in December that Leeds United had made contact with Lens star Khusanov.

Understandably, with Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur also in hot pursuit, not to mention Real Madrid, the Uzbekistan international is not rushing to put Leeds at the top of his list of preferred destinations.

And this is without mentioning the reported £25 million price-tag. A fee that Leeds, even as one of the Championship’s more deep-pocketed clubs, would struggle to stump up without the riches Premier League promotion can provide.

French publication Top Mercato claimed a fortnight ago – albeit claims that are yet to be backed up in England – that Leeds had made a bid of around £16 million. A hefty fee, certainly, but nearly £10 million less than Lens are rumoured to be holding out for.

There is a reason why Khusanov is valued so highly, only 24 games into his Ligue 1 career. And why many of Europe’s A-list institutions are lining up to make him the latest big-money departure from Lens, after Lois Openda, Seko Fofana, Cheick Doucoure, Elye Wahi and Raphael Varane.

According to data accumulated by the CIES Football Observatory, 20-year-old Khusanov ranks as the finest ‘full defence centre-back’ in world football under the age of 21.

A rating of 88 out of 100 when it comes to his defensive output – plus a pretty impressive score for distribution too – places Khusanov ahead of the likes of Palmeiras’ Vitor Reis and Valencia’s Christian Mosquera in CIES’s rankings.

‘Monster’ Khusanov has blown away Lens boss Will Still

Of course, any list which does not include Manchester United’s Leny Yoro and Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsi in their top ten should be met with some degree of scrutiny.

As talented as Khusanov is, he is yet to really take football by storm in the way Yoro did at Lille. He has not yet proven himself capable of marshalling top Champions League attackers like Cubarsi did at the age of just 17.

Yet, much to Leeds’ inevitable disappointment, it surely won’t be long before Khusanov joins Yoro, Cubarsi and co at one of the most high-profile clubs on the planet.

Perhaps, even before the month is out.

“He’s calm, powerful, he’s fast,” Lens coach Will Still says of Khusanov. “He doesn’t talk but he’s good.

“When I arrived, with the departure of Kev [Danso] in sight, Jean-Louis Leca [Lens’ sports coordinator] told me; ‘Don’t worry, there’s Kodir here, and he’s ready’. He wasn’t wrong. He has very, very impressive potential.”

“He’s a monster, what he did again tonight,” an awe-struck Brice Samba beamed after watching Khusanov shut down Nice’s defence in a recent 0-0. “He scares me. No, really! For his age, what he does…”