Man City in advanced talks over £85m move for Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi

City make their move for Bouaddi

Lille value the 18-year-old at 100 million euros (£85.6m), BBC Sport reported. City have moved for Bouaddi after agreeing to sell Rodri to Barcelona.

Bouaddi announced himself on the big stage with a starring role in Lille’s Champions League win over Real Madrid in 2024, and enhanced his reputation at this summer’s World Cup, starting five of Morocco’s six matches in their run to the quarter-finals.

He has played 88 times for Lille since making his debut in October 2023, three days after his 16th birthday, and helped the club finish third in Ligue 1 last season.

How Bouaddi would fit at Manchester City

A deep-lying conductor, Bouaddi would complement summer signing Elliot Anderson, who is comfortable as a box-to-box midfielder as well as in the number six role he plays for England.

The reshuffle follows City’s agreement to sell Rodri to Barcelona for £65m on a four-year contract, one of the defining pieces of business of the summer transfer window.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner made 298 appearances across seven trophy-laden seasons at City after joining from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for a then club-record £62.8m.

The 30-year-old missed much of the 2024-25 campaign with a serious knee injury and parts of last season with a hamstring problem, but was named player of the tournament as Spain won a second global title this summer.

It remains to be seen whether a successful move for Bouaddi would affect City’s interest in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, with well-placed sources maintaining that manager Enzo Maresca retains a strong interest in the Argentina midfielder as the new Premier League season gets under way.