Liverpool have reportedly been offered the chance to sign a midfielder who’s been turning plenty of heads with his performances at the World Cup.
The Reds are among numerous clubs to have been linked with Morocco starlet Ayyoub Bouaddi of late, and one of his fellow Atlas Lions has also been attracting widespread interest.
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Liverpool approached about Neil El Aynaoui
On Thursday, TEAMtalk reported that Andoni Iraola’s side are among a multitude of Premier League clubs to whom intermediaries have spoken regarding the availability of AS Roma midfielder Neil El Aynaoui.
There’s a belief among the 25-year-old’s representatives that there could be ‘a genuine opportunity’ for him to move this summer if the Serie A club were to receive an acceptable proposal.
Scouts from across Europe are said to be ‘hugely impressed’ by his performances not just at the World Cup but also throughout the 2025/26 season with the Giallorossi, and at the Africa Cup of Nations over the winter.
Several European clubs have already made contact regarding El Aynaoui’s situation at the Stado Olimpico, in the belief that they could offer him substantially more game-time than he’s had in the Italian capital.
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El Aynaoui may already have caught the eye of Liverpool chiefs
The 25-year-old was a standout player for Morocco as they eliminated Netherlands from the World Cup earlier this week, getting the better of the midfield battle with Ryan Gravenberch, as the figures below from Sofascore would indicate.
Netherlands v Morocco El Aynaoui Gravenberch
Minutes played 120 86
Passes completed 135 18
Pass completion 97% 75%
Duels won 6 2
Tackles 4 0
Clearances 3 0
Key passes 1 0
Accurate long balls 7 1
Possession lost 8 (from 156 touches) 12 (from 36 touches)
Of course, signing a player off the back of one match at a major tournament isn’t how elite clubs tend to do business in 2026, although it won’t have gone unnoticed at Anfield how well he acquitted himself up against a top-class operator in Liverpool’s number 38.
Whilst not blowing his positional peers of the water with his performances in Serie A last season, El Aynaoui’s numbers nonetheless indicate that he’s a well-rounded midfielder who’s very capable across a wide range of metrics (via Fotmob).
2025/26 Serie A Per 90 minutes Percentile among positional peers
Possession win in final third 0.73 94th (top 6%)
Interceptions 1.54 91st
Assists 0.18 88th
% of accurate long balls 66.7% 88th
Pass completion 89.2% 84th
Crossing accuracy 35.3% 83rd
Successful passes 47.23 81st
Dribbles completed 0.82 71st
The Football Transfers website lists his current market value at a modest €22.3m (£19.1m), but a player of his age and high-level experience would surely command a much higher fee if Roma were to sell him.
With Morocco facing co-hosts Canada in their next World Cup match and just one win away from a second consecutive quarter-final appearance in the competition, his performances in North America will be well worth watching for as long as the Atlas Lions are involved at the tournament.