Man City in advanced talks for £85m Bouaddi, 18

Manchester City are in advanced talks to sign 18-year-old Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for £85 million. The Premier League club, which recently sold Rodri to Barcelona for £65 million, is hoping to finalize the deal this week. Lille value Bouaddi at 100 million euros (£85.6 million). City are also still interested in Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, though the bid has passed Chelsea's self-imposed deadline, and they are expected to keep him for the rest of the season.

If City can secure both Bouaddi and Fernandez, they will have completed a trio of expensive midfield signings following the arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. Bouaddi made an impact at this summer's World Cup, starting in five of Morocco's six matches as they reached the quarter-finals. Before his World Cup exploits, he was instrumental in Lille's Champions League victory over Real Madrid in 2024.

The teenager has played 88 times for Lille since his debut in October 2023 and helped them finish third in Ligue 1 last season.