Manchester City are about to break the bank again. The club has reportedly agreed an £86 million (€95 million) deal for rising Moroccan star Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille with an additional £4.2 million (€5 million) in add-ons.
He's set to sign a long-term contract of five years until June 2031 with the option of extending it further by a year as City have been desperate for midfield reinforcements following a series of high profile departures such as Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders.
Born in Senlis, France, Bouaddi began his journey in football at the age of five with AFC Creil in 2012. Nine years later, he moved to Lille where he continued his development into a young midfield prospect.
Bouaddi finally broke into their senior team during the 2023-24 season in a UEFA Europa Conference League group stage clash against a club from the Faroe Islands, KI. Only 16 years and three days at the time, he became the youngest to ever play in the group stages of a European club tournament as well as the youngest to ever play for Lille in an official match.
A versatile midfielder known for composure and defensive maturity, the 18-year-old possesses a tactical intelligence that belies his age. He uses excellent ball control and double touches to glide past opponents in tight spaces while boasting the ability to dictate plays from the deep.
His first real shot at stardom came against Real Madrid in a UEFA Champions League game on 2 October 2024, which he started. The match also coincided with his 17th birthday and the player marked the occasion with a fabulous defensive display to keep their mighty visitors at bay as Lille prevailed 1-0 at home.
Bouaddi's growing influence on the side made him indispensable in their setup and his talents didn't go unnoticed on the international stage either. Morocco came calling for him in May this year and Bouaddi switched allegiance from France, before getting summoned into their 26-man squad for the World Cup.
The young gun made his international debut against Burundi in a warm-up tie on 26 May and two more appearances later, starred for the Atlas Lions at the North American showpiece where he played in five of their six games in the run-up to the quarter-finals, while impressing with his exemplary composure, distribution skills, burst of pace and match-awareness to emerge as one of the breakout stars of the campaign.
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