Lille opens doors to Manchester City in Ayyoub Bouaddi deal

Ayyoub Bouaddi, one of Lille's outstanding young talents, is attracting interest from Manchester City this summer. The 18-year-old player made a strong impression at the FIFA World Cup, especially in the 1-1 draw between Morocco and Brazil, with his technical ability and maturity in playing football, attracting attention from many big clubs in Europe. Manchester City are continuing to assess their midfield options, despite spending £116 million to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. Sporting director Hugo Viana has identified strengthening the central area as a top priority before the transfer window closes. Bouaddi has been included on the list of targets, with Lille said to favor him with a move to the Premier League rather than another Ligue 1 club. According to sources from ESPN, Lille wants Bouaddi to choose the Premier League, which opens up opportunities for Manchester City in the coming weeks. However, pursuing Bouaddi is also difficult due to the player's personal aspects. Bouaddi is known to be a long-time fan of Paris Saint-Germain, and attended the 2025 UEFA Champions League final where PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0, which further increased interest from the French capital team.  In addition to PSG, Real Madrid is also said to be interested in Bouaddi, while Arsenal once considered the possibility of recruiting him, but they are currently focusing on other goals. This makes Manchester City and PSG the two most mentioned teams in this deal. Manchester City's search for midfield options does not stop at Bouaddi. Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United is also on the radar, but Tottenham are leading the race to sign this player. City's search for midfield additions reflects the scale of the rebuild that coach Enzo Maresca is undertaking at the Etihad Stadium this summer, as captain Bernardo Silva moved to Real Madrid on a free contract on July 1 after nine years with Pep Guardiola. There is also uncertainty over the futures of Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders, leaving City's midfield more depleted than Viana would like. Bouaddi, who turns 19 in October, is seen as a more long-term option than Anderson, but fits City's criteria of young and technically sound midfielders that they have targeted in recent transfer windows. However, there is no guarantee that Bouaddi will move to the Etihad Stadium this summer. One possibility is that he will stay at Lille for another season before City renew their interest in him next summer. This will allow the youngster to continue his development at club level while Morocco can progress further into the World Cup in North America. --- ## Related Articles 1. [Reece James Doubtful for England's Clash Against Mexico](https://pitchpulsemedia.com/en/news/reece-james-doubtful-for-englands-clash-against-mexico) 2. [Mbappé Shines as France Defeats Paraguay in World Cup 2026 Clash](https://pitchpulsemedia.com/en/news/mbappe-shines-as-france-defeats-paraguay-in-world-cup-2026-clash)

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