Manchester City Set to Sign Bouaddi Amid Liverpool's Rebuild
Liverpool’s summer rebuild is gathering pace, but one intriguing midfield option is slipping through Anfield’s fingers and heading for a Premier League rival.
Rodri’s move to Barcelona has jolted the market at the top end of European football, and the knock-on effect is about to land squarely on Merseyside. With the Spain international leaving a huge void at the base of Manchester City’s midfield, the champions-elect have moved quickly for one of Europe’s most coveted young talents: Ayyoub Bouaddi.
City close in on Bouaddi
Liverpool had been linked with Bouaddi after his eye-catching performances for Morocco at the World Cup, the 18-year-old emerging as one of the standout teenage midfielders on the international stage. His profile fit the brief at Anfield: young, technically sharp, and capable of growing into a long-term pillar in the center of the pitch.
But the window has shifted. According to Fabrizio Romano, Bouaddi is now closing in on a move to Manchester City in the coming days, with personal terms already agreed. The only piece still to fall into place is the agreement between City and Lille, with reports suggesting the fee could soar beyond $100 million.
Earlier suggestions that Lille wanted Bouaddi back on loan for a year have faded. Romano now reports that the midfielder will join City immediately this summer, drafted straight into Enzo Maresca’s squad. He will arrive in a midfield already strengthened by the $157 million signing of Elliot Anderson, underlining City’s intent to refresh their engine room in one decisive window.
For Liverpool, it removes a live option from the board.
Liverpool’s priorities lie elsewhere… for now
Andoni Iraola’s first summer in charge has focused more on the back and front of the team than the middle of the park. The defense has been a clear priority, with Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo both arriving at Anfield in search of more minutes and a bigger stage. Both moves speak to a plan: greater depth, greater physicality, and a defensive line built to withstand a long season across multiple fronts.
Up top, the recruitment drive has been just as pointed. Victor Munoz has joined the forward ranks, and Liverpool remain keen on PSG pair Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye. Both can operate on either flank, offering Iraola the kind of flexible wide options modern systems demand.
Once that wide reinforcements business is complete, attention was always likely to drift back toward midfield. The department is not in crisis, but it is far from settled.
Curtis Jones is expected to leave, trimming the options in the middle. Alexis Mac Allister’s contract situation still hangs in the air, a cloud that could grow darker if it drifts into next summer unresolved. Those two factors opened the door for speculation around new arrivals, Bouaddi among them.
Now that door looks closed.
A midfield in transition, not turmoil
Liverpool will feel the sting of losing Bouaddi to a direct domestic rival, especially one already stacked with midfield quality. Yet this is not a squad scrambling for bodies in the center of the pitch.
Trey Nyoni’s emergence has changed the picture. His breakthrough last season, followed by an impressive preseason, has given Iraola a genuine internal solution for the long term. Nyoni looks ready to grow into a central role rather than simply fill gaps.
Around him, the foundations are already laid. Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, and Florian Wirtz are all tied to long-term deals, forming a core that can anchor Liverpool’s midfield for years. It is a group with creativity, athleticism, and age on its side.
That is why missing out on Bouaddi feels like a setback, not a crisis.
Next summer could tell a different story. If Mac Allister enters the final year of his contract, the urgency to reshape the midfield will rise sharply. By then, Bouaddi will almost certainly be off the table, wearing City blue and shaping games under Maresca.
Liverpool’s task now is clear: make sure that when the next big midfield decision arrives, they are the club dictating the market, not watching it turn against them.
