Manchester City Target Lille Star Ayyoub Bouaddi After Rodri Sale

Manchester City are pushing hard to bring Lille sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi to the Etihad, with talks described as at an advanced stage as the Premier League champions move to reshape their midfield.

City want the deal wrapped up this week after agreeing to sell Rodri to Barcelona, a seismic decision that has forced an immediate rethink at the heart of Pep Guardiola’s team. The response has been bold: target one of Europe’s most coveted young midfielders.

Lille are understood to value the 18-year-old at around 100 million euros (£85.6m). For a teenager who only made his debut in October 2023, that fee underlines just how quickly his reputation has exploded.

Bouaddi announced himself to the wider continent with a standout performance in Lille’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid in 2024, a night that turned him from promising prospect into headline name. This summer, he backed that up on the biggest international stage, starting five of Morocco’s six matches in their run to the World Cup quarter-finals and looking entirely at home against elite opposition.

He is not a like-for-like Rodri replacement. He is something different. Operating as a deep-lying conductor, Bouaddi dictates tempo from the base of midfield, breaking lines with his passing and drawing pressure before slipping the ball through gaps that most players do not see. City believe that profile would dovetail with summer signing Elliot Anderson, who brings more of a box-to-box edge as well as the number six qualities he shows with England.

The numbers behind Bouaddi’s rise are striking. Since making his Lille debut three days after his 16th birthday, he has already amassed 88 appearances for the French club, an extraordinary workload for a player still in his teens. Last season he played a central role as Lille finished third in Ligue 1, driving their build-up and showing a maturity that belies his age.

For Lille, the stance is clear: they will sell, but only at their price. For City, the urgency is just as clear. With Rodri gone and the season’s demands only growing, they are moving fast to secure the next long-term pillar of their midfield.