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Man City have entered the battle for Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, according to reports.
The Moroccan’s excellent performance against Brazil in the first group game of the World Cup has led to a lot of interest in the player.
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TEAMTalk claim that Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are “best-positioned” to sign Bouaddi, having pursued the 18-year-old for quite some time.
However, they also believe that both City and Liverpool have ‘recently joined the chase’ of the ‘generational talent.’
Why is Bouaddi in such high demand?
Beyond his impressive display against Brazil, the teenager has been playing to a standard at club level which belies his young age.
Bouaddi will only turn 19 in October, but he has already made close to 100 appearances in all competitions for Lille’s senior side.
He doesn’t generally offer much in the way of creativity (he has 0 goals and 4 assists in 96 senior games), but his outstanding athleticism means he is able to win the ball back from opponents with regularity, as well as using his dribbling skills to avoid losing possession.
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How much would Man City need to pay?
Lille are said to have slapped an asking price between €60m (£52m) and €70m (£60.5m) on Bouaddi, but that figure could increase if he continues to catch the eye at the World Cup.
In addition to City, Arsenal, PSG and Liverpool, the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also keeping tabs on his situation.
It is never wise to sign players purely based on their performances at the World Cup, but Bouaddi is someone with such high potential that teams will worry about missing out if they don’t make a move for him now.
Of course, City were focused on recruiting Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, and they hold a strong interest in Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali as well, so we shall see if Bouaddi’s name moves up the shortlist.
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