Manchester City might be pulling ahead in the race for Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi. And the reason is pretty simple. They’re willing to wait.
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, who spoke on talkSPORT, Lille wants to keep Bouaddi for one more season. That means any club that agrees to a loan-back or a pre-agreement for a 2027 move gets a much better price. For everyone else trying to buy him now, the price tag is around €100 million. For teams willing to play ball on the timeline, it drops to about €80 million.
City seems to be the club most open to that kind of deal right now.
Jacobs laid it out pretty clearly. “Bouaddi of Morocco is a player that they’re looking at very closely,” he said. “Manchester United like him. Chelsea and Arsenal have the player on their radar and Bayern Munich too.” He called the whole situation a “fascinating transfer story” because of the timeline tension between what Lille wants and what most big clubs usually demand.
The Appeal of Waiting
It makes sense why City would be okay with this. They’ve got Rodri sitting in that midfield spot, plus they just brought in Elliot Anderson. Adding another young midfielder immediately might create a logjam. Waiting a year lets Bouaddi develop more at Lille, and City gets a slightly cheaper deal for a player who could be a long-term piece.
But Jacobs also noted that City is still looking at Sandro Tonali. So it’s not like they’re putting all their eggs in one basket. They’re exploring options.
What About Arsenal and Manchester United?
Arsenal has its own midfield depth issues. Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, and Myles Lewis-Skelly are all in the mix. Bouaddi wouldn’t walk into that lineup as an automatic starter. Same goes for City, honestly. The competition is fierce at both clubs.
Manchester United though? That might be the best landing spot for immediate playing time. Casemiro is gone after his contract expired. Manuel Ugarte has been inconsistent and then picked up a serious injury at the World Cup. There’s a real opening there. If United matched City’s willingness to wait, they’d have a strong argument for Bouaddi’s services. But right now, Jacobs says City has the edge because they’ve shown they’re willing to at least discuss the loan-back structure.
It’s not a done deal by any means. Arsenal or United could still come in with a similar offer and change the conversation. But for the moment, City’s patience is the story. Bouaddi is clearly a player worth waiting for. The question is whether anyone else is willing to do the same.
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