Manchester City Nears €100m Ayyoub Bouaddi Transfer
Manchester City are set to add another heavyweight name to an already lavish summer, having agreed a deal with Lille worth €95m (£81.4m) plus €5m in potential add-ons for Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The move, once completed, will push City’s outlay for the window towards the £200m mark, following the £116m signing of Elliot Anderson earlier in the summer. This is not a quiet reset. It is a full-scale rebuild of the champions’ midfield.
Bouaddi, 18, was withdrawn from Lille’s Ligue 1 fixture against Angers on Sunday as the transfer gathered pace. He is due to undergo a medical with City, with the deal expected to be made official in the coming days.
Player Profile
A deep-lying midfielder who operates primarily as a No 6, Bouaddi has risen with startling speed. He started five of Morocco’s six matches at this summer’s World Cup, including the 2-0 quarter-final defeat to France, despite only making his eighth international appearance in that game.
His club breakthrough came even earlier. Bouaddi made his Lille debut in a Conference League group match in October 2023. He was 16 years and three days old, the youngest footballer ever to appear in the competition. City are paying for potential, but it is already visible on the biggest stages.
The majority of the fee will be covered by the £65m sale of Rodri to Barcelona, finalised last week. Losing the metronome of their midfield might have forced City’s hand, but the response has been aggressive: one record sale funding another huge swing on the future.
Anderson, signed for £116m and handed a starting role in City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Sunday, can play as either a No 6 or a No 8. That flexibility gives Enzo Maresca room to introduce Bouaddi on his own terms rather than throwing him straight into the starting XI.
Looking Ahead
The reshaping may not stop there. City retain a strong interest in Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández. Chelsea are holding out for £120m for the Argentina international, while City are understood to value him at a lower figure.
One marquee holding midfielder has gone. Two big-money arrivals are in. And with Fernández still on the radar, City’s midfield revolution may only be halfway done.
