Manchester City Signs Ayyoub Bouaddi for £100m

Manchester City have struck an agreement in principle worth 100m euros (£85.6m) to sign Lille’s 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, as the Premier League champions continue a dramatic rebuild of their engine room.

The Morocco international, long regarded as one of Ligue 1’s most exciting young midfielders, is now on the brink of completing his move to England after weeks of negotiations between the clubs. Lille have accepted an initial £81.4m fee, with a further £4.2m due in add-ons, clearing the way for the teenager to join Enzo Maresca’s squad.

City had been edging towards this point. BBC Sport revealed earlier in the week that talks were at an advanced stage, and the final breakthrough has now arrived, leaving only the formalities before Bouaddi swaps northern France for the Etihad.

It is a deal that underlines both City’s financial muscle and the urgency of their summer reshuffle. The midfield that once felt untouchable has been ripped open: Rodri has gone to Barcelona in a £65m transfer, while Tijjani Reijnders has departed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Qadsiah in a £52m move.

Those exits forced City to act. Central midfield instantly became the priority, not a luxury.

Bouaddi is the latest piece of that response. Young, expensive, and expected to grow into a central role under Maresca, he arrives in a window where City have already spent heavily to reshape their core. England international Elliot Anderson has joined from Nottingham Forest for £116m, another sign of how aggressively the club are moving to refresh the squad’s spine.

City are not done looking. Their interest in Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez remains alive, although whether they can tempt the London club into a deal is still unclear.

For now, though, the focus is on Bouaddi: 18 years old, a £100m package, and walking into a midfield undergoing one of the boldest overhauls of the Maresca era before it has truly begun.