Manchester City reach Bouaddi agreement but Anderson fee is holding up €100m transfer

Manchester City are closing in on Ayyoub Bouaddi after reaching a full verbal agreement with the midfielder on personal terms in a transfer that could be worth €100 million - but the deal is not done yet. The Lille player had already been on the radar of Europe's biggest clubs after two strong Ligue 1 seasons, and his breakout performance for Morocco at the 2026 World Cup raised his profile even higher. City have moved first and agreed personal terms with the 18-year-old, yet they still need to find an agreement with Lille. Transfer insider Florian Plettenberg of broadcaster Sport Deutschland has warned that the saga is not over. While Bouaddi has given City his word, there is no deal with the French club yet, and other clubs are monitoring the situation in case the Premier League side slips. The tricky part is Elliot Anderson. Lille have privately indicated that they will use Anderson's move to City as the benchmark for Bouaddi's valuation. Anderson switched from Nottingham Forest to City earlier this summer in a deal worth €135 million, and Lille view that as the reference point for a player with Bouaddi's potential. Lille president Olivier Letang has avoided putting a public price on his player, but he has made his preference clear. "I never discussed figures," he told L'Equipe. "But very few clubs today can afford a player of Ayyoub's quality, who is only 18." "What environment would be best for him to continue developing? We've seen each other since he returned from the World Cup. I can't say what we discussed. Anything is still possible, but in my opinion, he should stay with us for another season. I'm convinced there's a strong chance he'll stay with us. And he would be very happy to do so." A sale followed by a one-year loan back to Lille has not been ruled out. City view Bouaddi as the long-term replacement for Rodri, a move that would open the door for the Spaniard to join Real Madrid. Bouaddi is not at Rodri's level yet, but the France-born midfielder is considered a natural heir to the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner. He has the same game intelligence as the City captain, controlling the tempo with clever passes even under pressure, and he is known for his relentless work rate. The numbers support the excitement: data analytics firm SciSports gives Bouaddi a potential SciSkill score of 132.3. Only four players in the world have a higher figure, which is calculated using hundreds of in-game data points, and that group includes Manchester City's own Erling Haaland, who posts 136.2.