Manchester City Sign Ayyoub Bouaddi for €95m
Manchester City have made their midfield statement.
The club have confirmed the signing of Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille in a deal worth €95m (£81.4m) plus a further €5m in add-ons, with the 18-year-old Morocco international penning a five-year contract.
He will not be eased in. Bouaddi goes straight into Enzo Maresca’s squad for Friday night’s trip to Crystal Palace, the latest step in a rise that has moved at remarkable speed.
At Lille, he became the club’s youngest-ever player when he featured against KÍ Klaksvík on 5 October 2023, just three days after his 16th birthday. By the time he left, he had already racked up 96 appearances for the French side, operating predominantly as a No 6.
“I am happy with the progress I have made so far, but I also know I can improve so much,” Bouaddi said after the move was announced. “This is undoubtedly the best place for me to do that. This club demands trophies and I will give everything to make sure we are challenging for every title.”
Inside City, the excitement is obvious.
“Ayyoub’s potential is extremely high – a player equipped with everything a top midfielder needs,” said Hugo Viana, the club’s director of football. “At just 18, he already has outstanding football intelligence and that will only improve under the guidance of Enzo.”
City rip up and rebuild the midfield
Bouaddi’s arrival is another major piece in City’s sweeping midfield rebuild. Nico González is set to become the fourth frontline central midfielder to depart this summer, following Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders out of the door.
City have moved aggressively to reshape the core. Elliott Anderson has already arrived from Nottingham Forest in a £116m deal, and the club are expected to harden their long-standing interest in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández with a formal bid. Chelsea value the Argentina international at £120m.
The pressure to get the next phase right is obvious. Bouaddi, with his deep-lying instincts and calm on the ball, has been recruited to anchor a new era rather than simply pad out the squad.
Marmoush out, Spurs cash in on City’s depth
To fund and balance this churn, City have been just as busy on the outgoing side.
Omar Marmoush will join Tottenham on loan for the season, with an obligation to buy for an initial £50m. Spurs have agreed to pay up to £10m in add-ons, half of which is guaranteed, and the 27-year-old is scheduled to sign a four-year contract next summer, with an option for an extra year.
City will not owe a sell-on fee to Eintracht Frankfurt, the club from whom they signed the Egyptian forward in January 2025, sharpening the financial upside of the deal.
Marmoush is the second City player this week to head for north London. He follows Sávio, the Brazilian winger who completed a £75m plus £10m move to Spurs on Tuesday. City, in turn, have already lined up Sávio’s replacement out wide, agreeing a £34m fee with Palmeiras for Allan Elias.
De Zerbi gets his ‘bomba’
At Tottenham, Roberto De Zerbi has been demanding more firepower. He has it now.
The Italian has been keen to upgrade his centre-forward options after Dominic Solanke and Richarlison struggled with form and fitness. Marmoush, with his mobility and work-rate, arrives as that upgrade, complementing the high-profile capture of Sávio.
De Zerbi hinted at this shake-up at the end of July when he revealed Spurs had a “bomba” attacking signing lined up – his term for a top-tier addition. In the end, there were two. The manager admitted on Tuesday that negotiations for Sávio began just three days after last season ended and have dragged on longer than he would have liked. He is convinced the wait will be justified.
Spurs’ summer spending underlines the scale of the rebuild. The club have laid out £304.5m on Jan Paul van Hecke, Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Sávio, while adding Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on free transfers.
City, meanwhile, have ripped out the heart of a title-winning midfield and dropped an 18-year-old at its centre. The money has been spent, the roles have been cleared. Now Bouaddi has to prove he is ready to carry a team that demands trophies every single year.
