Manchester City to Sign Ayyoub Bouaddi as Rodri Leaves
Liverpool’s summer rebuild has been deliberate rather than dramatic. Quiet, calculated moves at the back and out wide have taken priority. But while the club bides its time over midfield, a major option is slipping away to a direct rival.
And it all starts with Rodri.
Rodri to Barcelona triggers City move
Rodri’s move from Manchester City to Barcelona has cracked open the midfield market at the very top level. City, suddenly stripped of their metronome, have moved fast. Liverpool, by contrast, are still watching.
Into that gap steps Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The 18-year-old, who lit up the World Cup with Morocco and has been tracked by Liverpool, is now on the verge of joining City, according to Fabrizio Romano. Personal terms are already agreed. The only question left is the final agreement between City and Lille, with reports suggesting the fee could soar beyond $100 million.
Earlier suggestions from France hinted Lille wanted Bouaddi back on loan for a season. That stance has shifted. Romano reports that City plan to bring him in immediately to strengthen Enzo Maresca’s midfield options, adding him to a group that already includes the $157 million signing of Elliot Anderson.
Liverpool, who had Bouaddi on their radar, are left watching a coveted talent head to the Etihad instead.
Liverpool’s business: defence and wings first
Andoni Iraola’s first summer in charge has had a clear early pattern. Fix the back line. Sharpen the flanks.
Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo have arrived at Anfield in search of more minutes and a bigger role, bolstering a defence that needed depth and fresh energy. Up front, Victor Munoz has already come through the door, and the club remains keen on adding more pace and versatility out wide.
PSG pair Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye are both targets, with the appeal obvious: they can operate on either flank and stretch games in the way Iraola’s system demands.
Only once the winger situation is resolved is the focus expected to turn fully to midfield. That delay now comes with a cost.
Midfield: well stocked, but in motion
On paper, Liverpool’s central options still look strong. Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, and Florian Wirtz are all tied down on long-term deals and form the spine of a midfield built for the next cycle.
Trey Nyoni has added a jolt of optimism. His breakthrough last season has been backed up by a standout preseason, and there is a growing belief he can claim a long-term role in the middle of the pitch rather than just cameo minutes.
But the picture is not static.
Curtis Jones is expected to leave, opening up at least one spot. Alexis Mac Allister’s contract situation lingers in the background, not yet a crisis but not fully settled either. If the Argentine edges towards the final year of his deal by next summer, the dynamic in midfield changes quickly.
That is where a signing like Bouaddi might have fit: not an emergency buy, but a long-term piece in a shifting puzzle.
A missed opportunity – for now
Liverpool will not be scrambling because of this. Midfield is not the fire that needs putting out today. The structure is in place, and Iraola has other priorities to address in this window.
But losing Bouaddi to Manchester City still stings. It removes one high-upside option from next summer’s shortlist before that list is even properly written.
By the time Liverpool’s need in midfield becomes urgent — perhaps when Mac Allister’s contract ticks down and Jones has moved on — Bouaddi will already be wearing sky blue, part of Maresca’s new era.
The question now is simple: when Liverpool finally move on a new midfielder, will the market still offer a talent of Bouaddi’s profile, or has a key piece just gone to a rival for good?
