Arsenal are one of the clubs in the race to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi, but Lille are pushing for a sale with a one-year loan back to the club for next season.
RMC Sport report that Manchester City and Manchester United are closely monitoring Ayyoub Bouaddi’s situation, and Arsenal and Bayern Munich have recently re-established contact over a potential transfer.
In a boost to those four clubs, Paris Saint-Germain are not in the race. Bouaddi likes PSG and would welcome a move, but the Ligue 1 champions aren’t planning to sign a midfielder unless there’s an unexpected departure.
But as an added complication, RMC Sport report that Lille would prefer a sale followed by a loan back to the club for another season, and club president Olivier Letang wants a minimum of €70m (£60.3m) – potentially more if there’s a bidding war.
Gary Jacob previously reported for The Times that Arsenal had begun talks to sign Bouaddi this summer, speaking to the player’s representatives about a possible transfer.
The Gunners are reportedly yet to make a formal offer to Lille, but that’s expected to follow in due course. Jacob claims Mikel Arteta wants a fourth midfielder to rotate with Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, and Myles Lewis-Skelly in the middle of his team.
But significant movement isn’t expected until Morocco are eliminated from the World Cup, as Bouaddi said himself.
“I’m really happy to know that some clubs are interested in me,” Bouaddi told David Ornstein. “But for now I’m only focused on the World Cup and we will try to give everything to do our best.”
Bouaddi is already a nailed-on starter for Lille. He’s made 96 senior appearances for the club, including starting 28 of their 34 Ligue 1 fixtures in 2025/26.
The midfielder has played two of Morocco’s three games at the World Cup so far, helping them draw with Brazil and beat Scotland. The team have a big last-32 clash against the Netherlands on Monday night (or the early hours of Tuesday morning for those in the UK).
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