Manchester United are reportedly battling with Arsenal over a deal to sign LOSC Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, as per French football journalist Santi Aouna.
The 18-year-old joined Les Dogues’ youth system back in 2021 before making his first team debut a couple of years ago. This season, he has established himself as a key player in Bruno Genesio’s starting line-up, making 18 appearances across all competitions thus far.
The youngster has been guiding his side to push for a finish in the Champions League spot, sitting fourth in the Ligue 1 table with 29 points from 15 games. They are just four points behind Paris Saint-Germain.
Now, Aouna states that Bouaddi’s recent eye-catching performances haven’t gone unnoticed as he has started attracting a lot of attention ahead of the upcoming winter transfer window.
Man Utd are keeping a ‘very close’ eye on his development, while Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, and Juventus have also expressed their interest after following his performances closely.
The midfielder is eligible to play for both Morocco and France, and the African nation have already made a move to persuade him to play for them. However, the French national team don’t want to lose a player of his qualities and Didier Deschamps has told the player that he could receive the call-up in the next international fixtures.
Battle
Bouaddi entered the final few months of his existing deal at Lille, so they have decided to tie him down to a fresh term to avoid losing him for a cut-price deal next year. Still, they would be ready to part ways with him if they were to receive an offer of around £52m from his potential suitors, such as Man Utd or Arsenal.
Man Utd currently have Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, and Bruno Fernandes as options to deploy in the engine room.
However, while Ugarte and Mainoo have found it difficult to find regular game time under Ruben Amorim, Casemiro and Fernandes have displayed inconsistent performances. So, the Red Devils hierarchy are planning to revamp the midfield department next year.
On the other hand, Arsenal decided to revamp the middle of the park by purchasing Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi last summer. So, Mikel Arteta’s side don’t need to invest more to upgrade this position further unless anyone leaves.
Bouaddi is a highly talented player and possesses the potential to reach the top. So, he would be a great coup for Man Utd or Arsenal should either club purchase him.
However, he is expected to get more regular game time at United rather than Arsenal, so he would be better off joining the Old Trafford club over the Gunners if he were to leave Lille.
