Liverpool transfer news
Liverpool transfer news: Can Iraola land Bouaddi before Europe’s giants move?
Liverpool transfer news: Fenway Sports Group want him. Fabrizio Romano says it’s real. Honestly, after what Ayyoub Bouaddi just did to Brazil at MetLife Stadium, nobody should be rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
Born in Senlis, France, back in October 2007, the teenager swapped his international allegiance to Morocco just last month. He’d been turning heads for the French under-21s before that. This kid breaks records for fun. In January, he became the youngest player ever to hit 50 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille. The previous holder of that particular milestone? A certain Eden Hazard.
The World Cup moment that changed everything
Look at the numbers from that Brazil match. Superb. A 91% passing accuracy, flawless completion in the final third, six recoveries, five interceptions, and nine duels won. He dominated. Nobody in a Morocco shirt touched the ball more times than his 87. Achraf Hakimi was the next best on 83. Casemiro, once the gold standard for defensive midfielders, looked totally lost trying to get near him. Bouaddi covered 11.87 kilometres. Relentless. Calm. Undaunted.
During the domestic season with Lille, he clocked up 2,330 minutes across 30 Ligue 1 games, averaging 40.79 passes a match with an 85.32% completion rate. The real growth is in his creativity. He created 16 chances this year, a massive leap from the measly three he managed the season before. He also completed 866 successful passes, nearly double his previous tally of 496. He doesn’t score. Zero goals in 30 outings. But who cares? For a deep-lying midfield controller acting as the team’s connective tissue, goals are a sideshow.
Arsenal and Liverpool have been meeting with his agents since January, but the queue is getting longer. Chelsea, Manchester City, and Real Madrid are sniffing around too. Ben Jacobs, writing for The Redmen TV, noted that Andoni Iraola’s recruitment team admire his profile. A concrete bid after the World Cup is highly likely. The price? Anywhere between €75m and €85m.
Lille hold all the cards here. They tied him down to a new contract in December 2025, knowing full well this frenzy was coming. His deal runs until June 2029, so they are under zero pressure to sell cheaply. Over at the Daily Mail, Lewis Steele reports that while Liverpool likes the player, they are lurking rather than leading the chase, with RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande currently a higher priority.
Read: Right opinion for Iraola? Liverpool are in love with the prospect of signing £16m
Bouaddi himself isn’t giving anything away. Asked about the transfer noise following the Brazil draw, he simply said he was entirely focused on the World Cup. He is just as cool off the pitch as he is on it.
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