Manchester City have agreed a deal worth 100m euros (£86m) in principle to sign Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, the highly rated 18-year-old who has also attracted international interest from Morocco and France.
Bouaddi, a Morocco international, has been regarded as a major talent since making his senior debut for Lille just days after his 16th birthday in 2023. His progress has impressed club team-mate Olivier Giroud, who compared his maturity with that of Kylian Mbappe at the same age.
“I played with Kylian Mbappe when he was 18,” Giroud said. “He was so mature for his age, and I have the same feeling about Ayyoub.”
The midfielder’s emergence was no surprise to those who watched him develop in Creil, in northern France. Former coach Sofiane Khair said Bouaddi’s rise had followed a path that had long been visible to people in his home town.
“No one is shocked here,” Khair said. “For us, it’s logical.”
Bouaddi chose to represent Morocco despite playing for France throughout the youth age groups. Giroud, a World Cup winner, spent much of the year trying to persuade him to select France.
“teasing him the whole year regarding picking France”.
However, Bouaddi ultimately decided to honour his family heritage. To explain his choice, he posted an old photograph on Instagram showing him wearing a Morocco shirt while watching the 2018 World Cup from the stands at the age of 10.
“I am aware of the privilege I have to defend these colours and I will give everything to best represent my country,” he wrote.
He went on to help Morocco become the first African nation to reach successive World Cup quarter-finals. His displays against Casemiro, Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes underlined his confidence and composure against established midfielders, according to former Morocco international Hassan Kachloul.
“Against players like Casemiro, Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes, he showed not just quality but personality – a kind of positive arrogance,” Kachloul told BBC Sport.
“He had confidence, a great aura and a strong presence on the pitch. He thrives in that environment.”
Yet former Creil coach Armand Doue believes those performances were simply an extension of what Bouaddi produces regularly for Lille.
“He does this kind of match every weekend on the pitches of Ligue 1,” he said.
Bouaddi became Lille’s youngest-ever player when he made his first-team debut against KI in 2023. On his 17th birthday, he was celebrated by supporters at Stade Pierre-Mauroy after helping Lille beat Real Madrid in the Champions League.
He later surpassed a record previously held by Eden Hazard by reaching 50 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille at the age of 18.
Giroud has been particularly struck by Bouaddi’s willingness to listen and learn. The forward described him as his “perfect team-mate”, while also identifying areas where the teenager can develop.
“He’s a proper box-to-box player, but he needs to improve some things, like his finishing,” Giroud said.
Moroccan football journalist Amine el Amri believes Bouaddi has the potential to become one of the greatest midfielders in the sport, although he warned that continued hard work will be essential.
“He has such talent but he has to keep his cool and his feet on the ground. You can’t be a star if you don’t work hard enough,” he said.
“At first glance, he reminds you a lot of [former Spain and Barcelona midfielder] Sergio Busquets. He is very tall but also not very muscular. Normally you would get players with muscles in the number six or eight position.
“What he does best is keep his cool when he has the ball and when he is pressing. He doesn’t commit a lot of fouls, which is what made Busquets a complete midfielder.”
That desire for improvement has been a recurring feature of Bouaddi’s development. Diop describes him as “a player who always questions himself because he is a perfectionist”.
Mickael Delestrez noticed the same quality when Bouaddi moved into Lille’s under-17 side at 15.
“He’s one of those boys who, during his first game playing up an age group, would ask, ‘What do you expect from me?'” he said.
“His reflective nature leads to him constantly questioning his game – what could he have done better or what should he have done differently?
“He possesses this analytical ability that allows him to continually challenge himself.”
Bouaddi’s curiosity extends beyond football. In his spare time, he has been studying for a mathematics degree and previously won an oratory competition after giving a speech at Elysee Palace.
Khair said the player’s disciplined lifestyle had been clear from an early age.
“Ayyoub didn’t have a PlayStation or a Nintendo DS,” he said. “When he wasn’t playing, he stayed at home reading books or doing his homework.
“He never had fast food, either. When we went to tournaments, he was the only kid who did not eat burgers or pizza.
“He’s the same now as he was when he was 10.”
