Man City face £85m demand for Lille's Bouaddi after his World Cup breakthrough

Manchester City have been told they must pay £85m (€100m) to sign Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi this summer, with the Ligue 1 club firmly in the driving seat over any potential transfer.

Bouaddi, 18, raised his profile significantly at the World Cup, where he shone for Morocco as they reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated by France. Those performances have sharpened City’s interest, as has Tottenham’s move for Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, which has left the club more urgently seeking midfield reinforcements.

According to The Athletic, Lille’s asking price of £85m is only part of the obstacle. The French club would prefer to retain Bouaddi for at least another season, while City are keen to integrate him into Enzo Maresca’s squad immediately — a fundamental disagreement that adds a further layer of complexity to negotiations.

City have already broken their club transfer record this summer, spending £116m to sign Elliot Anderson. Yet midfield remains a pressing concern: Rodri’s contract expires next summer and his future beyond that point is uncertain, while doubts also surround Nico Gonzalez, Mateo Kovacic, and Tijjani Reijnders.

Bouaddi is not the only target on City’s list. The club are also in the market for a right-back and a wide forward, with Maresca facing a congested final six weeks of the transfer window. Pre-season training begins on Monday, though the manager will be without most of his squad due to World Cup commitments — a factor that has slowed business across the board and, in cases like Bouaddi’s, pushed valuations higher.