Manchester City have agreed a deal with Lille for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, worth €95m (£81.4m) plus €5m in potential add-ons. The transfer will take City’s summer spending to nearly £200m, following Elliot Anderson’s £116m signing earlier in the window.
Bouaddi stood down from Lille’s Ligue 1 match
The 18-year-old was stood down from Lille’s Ligue 1 match against Angers on Sunday. He is set to undergo a medical with City, with the transfer expected to become official in the next few days.
Bouaddi operates mainly as a No 6. He started five of Morocco’s six games at the World Cup tournament this summer, including the 2-0 quarter-final defeat by France. That was only his eighth international appearance.
Youngest player in Conference League history
Bouaddi made his Lille debut in an October 2023 Conference League group game. At 16 years and three days, he became the youngest footballer to play in the competition.
The majority of the fee for Bouaddi will come from the £65m sale of Rodri to Barcelona, which was sealed last week.
Anderson’s debut and Enzo Fernández interest
Anderson is making his debut in City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Sunday. He can play as a No 6 or No 8, so Bouaddi may not go directly into Enzo Maresca’s starting XI.
City remain interested in Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández, also a midfielder. The west London club want £120m for the Argentinian, but City are thought to value him at a lower figure.
