One of the teams to look out for at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is Morocco, with the defending AFCON champions a perennial dark horse in recent tournaments, including their semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they lost to France. The squad includes the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Diaz, and Noussair Mazraoui, but the real star of their opening match of the tournament against Brazil was Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The 18-year-old would prove to be too much for the Brazilians to handle, recording 60 passes, five interceptions, while winning out on 9 duels in the midfield. Given that it's his World Cup debut, this is rather impressive for someone at that young of an age on the global stage. But for those keyed into Ligue 1, these numbers aren't too surprising given that Bouaddi recorded 33 interceptions and won out on 49 tackles during 42 games with Lille this season.
All of this has caught the eyes of multiple of the bigger clubs around the world, making the Moroccan midfielder one of the names to watch during the summer transfer window, with multiple Premier League sides looking at acquiring his services, chief among them: Arsenal and Liverpool.
The English clubs that are linked to Bouaddi
According to a recent report from Fabrizio Romano, both English sides have been in contact with Bouaddi's representatives about making a move in the coming weeks.
"There were direct contacts with Arsenal and direct contacts also with Liverpool, so both clubs had meetings with agents of the player [Bouaddi]," stated Romano.
🚨 Excl: Ayyoub Bouaddi on future amid growing interest in Lille & #Morocco midfielder - “I’m really happy to know that some clubs are interested in me but for now I’m only focused on the WC and we will try to give everything to do our best” @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/4wSOvZxzaY pic.twitter.com/yVlM5kTrIJ
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 14, 2026
Despite interest from some of the bigger clubs across Europe, it's apparent that the 18-year-old has only one thing on his mind, according to a recent interview with The Athletic's David Ornstein: the 2026 World Cup.
"I’m really happy to know that some clubs are interested in me, but for now I’m only focused on the World Cup, and we will try to give everything to do our best," explained Bouaddi.
The next opportunity that fans will get to see Bouaddi will come next week when Morocco squares up against Scotland for the second match of the group stage, with kick-off on Friday slated for 6:00 p.m. EST.
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