Liverpool are plotting a swoop to sign highly rated Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille this summer, according to Santi Aouna.
Bouaddi has been a revelation in Europe over the last two seasons and will now cost well over his £43m Transfermarkt valuation.
Having come through Lille’s renowned academy, he made his debut at just 16 years and 3 days in the UEFA Conference League against Faroese club KÍ on October 5, 2023, becoming the youngest player to feature in a European club competition at the time.
He has gone on to make 96 appearances for Lille, including 42 last season, as the four-time French champions finished third in Ligue 1 and qualified for next season’s Champions League.
The 18-year-old drew keen attention from several clubs after a composed, tidy midfield performance in Morocco’s World Cup opener against Brazil.
One of the clubs now looking to sign Bouaddi is Liverpool, according to Santi Aouna, who claims that the 2024-25 Premier League winners have shortlisted the youngster in their shortlist of midfield targets, which also includes Monaco’s Lamine Camara.
‘Fantastic’ midfielder
It appears the Reds are already accelerating efforts to get the deal done, as the French journalist adds that the club’s executives were present at New York’s MetLife Stadium to watch the central midfielder in action against Brazil.
However, Liverpool face stern competition from Premier League champions Arsenal, while Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur have also shown interest in the France-born Moroccan international, Aouna adds.
Bouaddi produced a commanding display against Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil side, registering the most touches (88), winning the most duels (11), and completing the highest number of successful passes in the opposition half (30). He also finished with an outstanding 93% pass completion rate, outperforming Casemiro despite facing a player nearly twice his age with vastly greater experience at the highest level.
Amid Liverpool’s interest, Bouaddi, who is described as ‘fantastic’ by European football journalist Andy Brassell, revealed after the game against Liverpool that he is only ‘focused on the World Cup’, implying that transfer talks will only come after the tournament.
As a result, it’ll be interesting to see whether Andoni Iraola’s side will wait until the end of the tournament to initiate contact or act proactively to secure his signature ahead of Arsenal and other clubs.
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