CORNERFLICK
Manchester City have reached a final agreement with Lille to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi, with the deal now set to be completed. The 18-year-old Morocco midfielder is due to travel to England soon for a medical, after personal terms were settled in July.
Transfer package
City will pay an initial fee of about €95m, with a further €5m possible in performance-related add-ons. The total package could therefore reach €100m.
Bouaddi is expected to sign a five-year contract with the option of a further year. The move makes him the most expensive teenager in Premier League history, according to the source material.
Midfield rebuild
City have made midfield reconstruction a priority after the departures of Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders. They had already bought Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for a club-record £116m, and Bouaddi takes their summer midfield spending close to £200m.
Bouaddi has mainly played as a defensive midfielder or deep-lying playmaker. The notes say his profile fits the Rodri role, with City seeing him as a long-term investment rather than an immediate replacement.
He was born in France on 2 October 2007 and rose through the ranks at Lille from the age of 16. He has also drawn attention for his performances at the 2026 World Cup with Morocco, where he featured in five of their six matches before they reached the quarter-finals.