Manchester City Near €100m Deal for Ayyoub Bouaddi

Manchester City have struck a deal worth €95m (£81.4m) plus a possible €5m in add-ons with Lille for Ayyoub Bouaddi, a move that pushes the club’s summer spending towards the £200m mark.

The 18-year-old midfielder was pulled out of Lille’s Ligue 1 fixture against Angers on Sunday, with a medical at City lined up and the transfer expected to be finalised in the coming days.

Bouaddi, a deep-lying midfielder who operates primarily as a No 6, has enjoyed a rapid rise. He started five of Morocco’s six matches at this summer’s World Cup, including the 2-0 quarter-final defeat by France, despite having only eight caps to his name.

His breakthrough at club level came even earlier. Bouaddi made his Lille debut in a Conference League group game in October 2023; at 16 years and three days, he became the youngest player ever to appear in the competition.

City’s outlay on Bouaddi is effectively funded by Rodri’s departure. The bulk of the fee will be covered by the £65m sale of the Spaniard to Barcelona, completed last week, a deal that forced Enzo Maresca and the hierarchy to accelerate their midfield overhaul.

That rebuild began in emphatic fashion with Elliot Anderson’s £116m arrival earlier in the window. Anderson, who can play as a No 6 or a No 8, starts in City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Sunday, which means Bouaddi is unlikely to walk straight into Maresca’s first XI despite his price tag and international pedigree.

City are not done in midfield. They retain strong interest in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández, but there is a significant gap in valuation: Chelsea are holding out for £120m for the Argentina international, while City rate him at a lower figure.

One marquee holding midfielder sold, two major signings through the door, and another target on the horizon. Maresca’s new City are being built from the centre out – and the next few weeks will show just how far they are prepared to go.