Man City close in on £85m Bouaddi as Rodri sale to Barcelona accelerates midfield rebuild

Manchester City are in advanced talks to sign Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi for £85m after agreeing to sell Rodri to Barcelona for around £65m, with manager Enzo Maresca also maintaining a strong interest in Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez as he looks to overhaul his central midfield.

City’s pursuit of Bouaddi accelerated once Barcelona’s move for Rodri was confirmed, with the club having anticipated the Spain captain’s departure after an opening £38.5m bid from the Catalan side was rejected earlier this month. Bouaddi, 18, is one of the most highly regarded young midfielders in Europe and started all five of Morocco’s matches at this summer’s World Cup, having already accumulated 88 appearances for Lille.

Maresca’s interest in Fernandez stems from his time coaching the Argentina international at Chelsea. The 25-year-old joined the Blues from Benfica in February 2023 for £107m and is now valued at over £120m by the club. City missed the deadline to trigger his release clause, but have not ruled out a move. Fernandez’s future at Stamford Bridge looks uncertain after he was booed by a section of Chelsea supporters during a pre-season friendly, while his agent Javier Pastore has been pushing for a pay rise.

Rodri’s exit represents a significant loss for City, compounded by the expected departure of Tijjani Reijnders to Saudi side Al Qadsiah for £51m. Despite spending £116m on Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest earlier in the window, Maresca is seeking further reinforcements in the middle of the pitch. Anderson started alongside Matteo Kovacic in Sunday’s Community Shield, where Arsenal’s 3-0 victory in Cardiff highlighted the scale of the rebuild required.

Maresca was measured in his response to the defeat, insisting the result would not alter the club’s transfer plans. “We knew already before the game that the things that we need to do — it is not because we lost the game or even if we were winning the game, we [would not think in a] different way,” he said after the match. “We are quite clear about” the direction the squad needs to take.

The transfer window remains open until 1 September, and City expect the combined income from the sales of Rodri and Reijnders to help fund the potential arrivals of Bouaddi and Fernandez.