Manchester City Signs Ayyoub Bouaddi for £85.6m

Manchester City have struck a deal worth up to £85.6m (€100m) with Lille for teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, a move that underlines the scale of the rebuild under Enzo Maresca.

City will pay a guaranteed £81m (€95m) for the 18-year-old Morocco international, with the rest tied to performance-related add-ons. It is a huge outlay for a player at the very start of his career, but one whose stock soared after an eye-catching World Cup.

Maresca’s new midfield pillar

Bouaddi’s arrival drops straight into the heart of Maresca’s biggest headache. Rodri has gone. Tijjani Reijnders has gone. Two pillars of City’s control game have disappeared in the same summer, and the new manager needs fresh anchors in the middle of the pitch.

Bouaddi is expected to sign a long-term contract once the final paperwork is complete, giving Maresca a young, high-ceiling option around whom he can shape a new-look midfield. He joins a squad that has already seen major investment in that area, following the £116m signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.

This is not a gentle evolution at the Etihad. It is a clear break from the Guardiola era.

End of an era at the Etihad

The departures have been relentless. Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake have all left, stripping away three of the most familiar faces of Manchester City’s recent dominance, alongside the exit of Pep Guardiola himself.

The squad churn has been just as brutal in attack and out wide. Savinho is poised to join Tottenham. Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez, both on the bench for Sunday’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth, could also be on their way before the window closes.

The dressing room Maresca walked into is not the one Guardiola left behind. Bouaddi, still a teenager, steps into a club that is being rebuilt at speed.

More business to come?

City’s recruitment drive does not stop with Bouaddi. The club have also been linked with Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez and Palmeiras winger Allan as they look to restock a squad suddenly light on familiar rhythm but heavy on potential.

For now, the headline is clear: Manchester City are paying elite money for an 18-year-old World Cup standout to help anchor a new era.

How quickly Bouaddi adapts to that responsibility will shape what this new City side becomes.