Ayyoub Bouaddi transfer: Manchester City reach agreement with Lille to sign 18-year-old Morocco midfielder
Manchester City's deal to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi is worth £86m; Man City are paying a fixed fee of £81.3m plus £4.3m in add-ons; City are working to rebuild their midfield after the departures of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders
Sunday 23 August 2026 17:08, UK
Manchester City have agreed a deal with Lille for Morocco international midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi worth up to £86m (€100m).
City are paying a fixed fee of £81.3m plus £4.3m in add-ons.
The 18-year-old is set to become the most expensive teenage signing in Premier League history, surpassing the £58.9m Manchester United committed to paying Lille for Leny Yoro in 2024.
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Lille have secured the fee they were holding out for in negotiations for Bouaddi, who was one of the breakout stars of this summer's World Cup with Morocco.
City are working to rebuild their midfield after the departures of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders.
For Sunday's game with Bournemouth, Marc Guehi started in the centre of midfield.
They are also interested in Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez and Roma's Manu Kone as potential options to further bolster midfield amid uncertainty over Newcastle target Nico Gonzalez's future.
Bouaddi's arrival will follow City's record-breaking £116m deal to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest earlier in the window.
The teenager is capable of operating as a defensive midfielder or in a more advanced role, giving City further versatility in midfield.
Rodri's heir? Why Man City have spent big on Bouaddi
Those who followed Morocco's recent World Cup campaign will recognise the name Ayyoub Bouaddi. Perhaps those who only took a passing glance will remember him, too. He tends to stand out.
Aside from his throwback curly mop of hair, the way he dominated the big stage with effortless grace over the summer got people talking. The midfielder excelled in his fledgling role at his first major international tournament, particularly noticeable in a group-stage bout with Brazil.
But this was not the first time Carlo Ancelotti found himself ruminating over an opposition player who was "better in the duels" than his own.
Ancelotti's Brazilian midfield was composed of the experienced Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes, and yet somehow it was Bouaddi that beamed brightest. It struck a familiar chord...
