Atletico Madrid have signed Kang-In Lee from Paris Saint-Germain for around €40 million, ending the South Korean's three-year stint in Paris where he won 12 trophies — yet barely featured when it actually mattered.
That last part is the real story. Lee was an unused substitute in both of PSG's Champions League final wins. He started 2025 with a thigh injury and never quite recovered his footing under Luis Enrique. Sixteen goals in 124 appearances isn't a bad return, but when you're not getting minutes in the biggest games, the writing is on the wall.
A smart buy for Atletico — if they use him right
At 25, Lee arrives in Madrid with his best years ahead of him and something to prove. The left-footed midfielder can play as a ten or cut in from either wing — the kind of profile Diego Simeone doesn't always know what to do with, which makes this either a fascinating evolution or an awkward fit. Atletico's third summer signing, after Morten Hjulmand and Alejandro Grimaldo, suggests real ambition in the market. They've also lost Antoine Griezmann to MLS, so attacking creativity is the gap Lee is being bought to fill.
€40 million is reasonable for a player of his ability at this age. Whether he can stay fit and consistent — the two things that undermined him at PSG — will determine whether it looks shrewd in 18 months' time. His odds of starting regularly are already better than they were in Paris. That's a low bar, but it's a start.
Lee won 50 caps for South Korea and featured at the World Cup, though the Koreans went out in the group stage. International form wasn't the issue. Club context was.
Khusanov commits to City's rebuild
Across the Pyrenees and the Channel, Manchester City confirmed Abdukodir Khusanov has signed a five-year contract extension. The 22-year-old Uzbekistan international joined from Lens in January 2025 and has already won the FA Cup and League Cup.
City's director of football Hugo Viana didn't hold back: "His physical and technical abilities are top, he has all the assets needed to be a world-class centre-back." That's a big claim for a player with fewer than 18 months at the club, but the early signs have clearly impressed the new regime under Enzo Maresca.
Khusanov himself flagged the challenge: impressing Maresca and nailing down a regular starting spot. That's not a given. City still have options at centre-back, and Maresca will have his own ideas. But locking him in for five years signals where the club's priorities lie defensively — young, physical, long-term.
He follows Phil Foden, who signed a new four-year deal earlier this week. City are clearly moving to secure their core while the squad transitions. For a team that finished second in the Premier League last season and now operates under a new manager, stability in contracts matters. The uncertainty is on the pitch, not the paperwork.
"I am really happy to extend my stay at City," Khusanov said. "I've enjoyed every minute since I arrived in Manchester." Whether those minutes translate into consistent Champions League starts under Maresca is the real question — and the one that will define whether this deal pays off.
