Morocco reached the World Cup quarter-finals.
Ayyoub Bouaddi played five times.
He bossed the midfield battle against Brazil. He didn’t look out of place for a single second.
And now the 18-year-old’s future is about to be decided — with Manchester City pushing harder than anyone else to make sure that future is at the Etihad.
Manchester City push hard for Bouaddi as €100m Lille midfielder set for imminent decision on his future
According to The Athletic, David Ornstein reports that Manchester City are pushing hard to sign Bouaddi, with a decision on his future expected imminently, and that Lille are expected to demand €100 million to sanction any departure this summer.
Crucially, the report makes clear that while other interested clubs have been willing to accept a loan-back arrangement that would keep Bouaddi at Lille for another season.
However, Manchester City want to bring him in immediately and integrate him into Enzo Maresca’s squad.
That distinction is significant.
It reflects how seriously the club view him.
Not as a prospect to be parked somewhere for development, but as a player ready to operate in the Premier League right now.
With the Gunners having held what were described as positive initial talks during the World Cup.
But City have moved to the front of the queue.
And the World Cup has been the accelerant.
Bouaddi was already well known to those inside football before the tournament began.
But five appearances for Morocco have transformed him from highly-rated prospect into one of the most talked-about young players on the planet.
Lille are waiting for him to return from his post-tournament break before sitting down for a definitive conversation about what happens next.
That conversation will include the possibility of him staying at the French club for another year.
But the consensus is that the offers arriving.
And the level of interest from Manchester City specifically, make a departure increasingly likely.
Yet given what was witnessed at the World Cup, the argument that it represents extraordinary value is entirely plausible.
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