Manchester City Close in on Ayyoub Bouaddi Amid Rodri's Move to Barcelona
Manchester City are closing in on Ayyoub Bouaddi in a move that could trigger one of the summer’s most dramatic midfield reshuffles, with Rodri edging towards Barcelona once the Lille teenager walks through the door.
City have agreed personal terms with the 18-year-old, but talks with Lille continue, the French club valuing the midfielder at a hefty €100m (£85m). It is a price that underlines how highly Europe’s elite rate the Morocco international and hints at the role Enzo Maresca has in mind.
Maresca, preparing for his first season in charge, does not see Bouaddi as one for tomorrow. He wants him in the first-team squad immediately. No gentle easing in, no quiet loan spell. City face Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday and begin their Premier League campaign against Bournemouth on 23 August; Maresca wants his new midfield shape in place by then.
Rodri edging towards Barcelona
Barcelona are increasingly confident they will get their man. Their first offer, around €45m, was knocked back last week, but they are expected to return with an improved bid as they work to align sporting ambition with financial reality.
The Catalan club see Rodri as a cornerstone signing. To afford him, they are prepared to cash in on Ferran Torres, who is attracting serious interest from Paris Saint-Germain. The funds from any Torres sale would be directed straight at City.
Inside the Etihad, there is a sense of inevitability. City are effectively resigned to losing the 30-year-old, who is entering the final year of his contract. Once Bouaddi arrives, the club’s stance hardens: the succession plan is in place, and the door opens for Rodri to move.
If the Bouaddi deal is completed, he will join Elliot Anderson in a rapidly rebuilt midfield. Anderson arrived last month from Nottingham Forest for £116m, another bold, expensive piece in Maresca’s new structure. Between Bouaddi and Anderson, City are banking on energy and upside to compensate for the loss of Bernardo Silva’s experience and subtlety.
One era of City’s midfield is closing. Another is being assembled at speed.
United move for Page as Rashford returns
Across Manchester, United are working on their own youth-focused rebuild. Leicester teenager Louis Page has emerged as a key target, with United pushing to get ahead of Arsenal in the race for the 18-year-old midfielder.
Page is believed to favour a move to Old Trafford, and United are hopeful that preference will prove decisive. For a club trying to reassert its identity, winning battles for the best young domestic talent carries weight far beyond the fee.
On the training pitch, there has been another significant arrival. Marcus Rashford has joined United’s camp in County Kildare after his post-World Cup break, returning to a squad now shaped by Michael Carrick.
Rashford’s recent past has been turbulent. The 28-year-old has spent the last season and a half out on loan, first at Barcelona, then at Aston Villa, after a breakdown in his relationship with a club executive and former head coach Ruben Amorim. That rift pushed him to the fringes, a homegrown star watching his club from afar.
Those tensions have eased. Rashford is now focused on working under Carrick, looking for a clean slate and a clear role. Yet the uncertainty has not fully lifted. With the transfer window still open, a late move cannot be ruled out.
At City, a teenage midfielder may soon unlock a European domino effect. At United, a teenage target and a returning forward could help define what comes next.
