Manchester City are looking to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi in the summer transfer window but Lille are in a position of power
Ayyoub Bouaddi of Morocco
Ayyoub Bouaddi of Morocco(Image: Getty Images)
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Manchester City have been told that they will have to pay £85m to sign Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi this summer. The Blues are looking to sign another midfielder and have been monitoring Bouaddi for some time.
The 18-year-old has improved his reputation even further this summer, shining for Morocco at the World Cup as they reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by France. Those performances, and Tottenham swooping for Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, have only increased City's interest in Bouaddi.
However, the Athletic reports that Lille are holding out for £85m (€100m) for a sale this summer. The move faces another potential hurdle in that the Ligue 1 club would prefer to keep Bouaddi for another year whereas City would want to put him straight into Enzo Maresca's squad.
City will have to negotiate the price down or contemplate another big spend as they look to shape their midfield for the coming season. They have already smashed their club record to sign Elliot Anderson for £116m, but cannot be certain that Rodri will stay at the club beyond next summer when his contract expires and there are also doubts around Nico Gonzalez, Mateo Kovacic and Tijjani Reijnders.
The club are also in the market for a right-back and a wide forward and are set for a hectic final six weeks of the window. Maresca kicks off pre-season training on Monday but will be without the majority of his squad due to their World Cup commitments, and that has slowed the transfer market as well - and increased valuations for players such as Bouaddi who have done well.