Manchester City Nears €100m Bouaddi Transfer as Maresca Rebuilds

Manchester City have struck an agreement with Lille for Ayyoub Bouaddi in a deal worth €95m (£81.4m) plus a further €5m in add-ons, a move that pushes the Premier League champions’ summer outlay towards the £200m mark.

The 18-year-old midfielder was withdrawn from Lille’s Ligue 1 fixture against Angers on Sunday, clearing the way for a medical with City. Barring late complications, the transfer is expected to be made official in the coming days.

Bouaddi is no ordinary teenager. Primarily a No 6, he anchored Morocco’s midfield at this summer’s World Cup, starting five of their six matches, including the 2-0 quarter-final defeat to France. That run came despite him having only eight caps for his country. His club career has moved just as quickly: he made his Lille debut in a Conference League group game in October 2023 at 16 years and three days, becoming the youngest player ever to feature in the competition.

City’s aggressive move for Bouaddi has been funded largely by the £65m sale of Rodri to Barcelona, completed last week and signalling a major shift at the base of Enzo Maresca’s midfield. The Italian is reshaping the heart of his side, but he will not be short of options.

Elliot Anderson, signed earlier in the window for £116m, starts City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Sunday and can operate as either a No 6 or a No 8. That flexibility means Bouaddi is unlikely to be dropped straight into Maresca’s first XI, at least in the opening weeks, as City manage his adaptation to English football and a new tactical structure.

City are not done yet. They remain keen on Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández, another midfielder who fits the profile of a deep-lying organiser with range and bite. Chelsea value the Argentinian at £120m, a figure City are understood to rate below their own valuation of the player, leaving a gap to bridge if that pursuit is to progress.

For now, though, the story is clear: Rodri out, Bouaddi in, Anderson already on the pitch. Maresca’s City are being rebuilt from the middle, and they are paying a premium to do it.