Back in December, it was reported that Newcastle United were showing serious interest in Abdukodir Khusanov.

Mark Douglas wrote in the days following Christmas that Paul Mitchell was a huge fan of the centre-back, adding that the 20-year-old was ‘keen’ on a move to St James’ Park.

A month later, the Uzbekistan international has sealed a €40m (£34m) move from RC Lens to Man City, although word from this morning’s press conference suggests he may have ended up on Tyneside had it not been for PSR.

Howe speaks out on Khusanov blow

After attending Eddie Howe’s chat with the media this morning, The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards had this to say on X:

‘Eddie Howe confirmed this morning that Newcastle had done all the preparation to sign Abdukhodir Khusanov this month but were simply unable to move because of PSR situation.

‘Man City swooped in and got him instead. Newcastle would have liked to sign him in the summer. Paul Mitchell a big fan of the centre back.’

Asked specifically about missing out on Khusanov during this morning’s press conference, Howe admitted we had “done the work” and “spoken to the representatives” of the defender, but weren’t able to pursue a deal due to the PSR restrictions we are currently battling:

“I think it goes back to the question Lee asked me, we’ve done the work, so that’s where I say. We have identified players that we’d like to sign.

“We’ve spoken to the representatives, because you have to be you have to do the process right. If something happens and we are able to recruit, you can’t then start from zero.

“So yeah, of course, we’re seeing players that we’ve identified and liked and targeted moved to other clubs, but that’s always part of the game with the restrictions you’re facing.”

We’ll never know just how close Newcastle came to landing Khusanov, but it’s pretty clear that we were seriously interested, suggesting Paul Mitchell had moved from Marc Guehi to the former Lens talent.

Agent admission tells similar story

According to Gairat Khasbiullin, the player’s agent, Newcastle came “very close” to signing the centre-back.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Khusanov’s representative said we were “one of the favourites” to land him, but suggested that “financial rules” and our inability to progress the deal as a result allowed Man City to step in.

“Newcastle was very close to the deal,” Khasbuillin said. “They even remained one of the favourites, and then was the last to leave the race with City,” he said.

“As far as I understand, financial fair play also had an impact. Well, 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.”