Arsenal and Manchester United face Ayyoub Bouaddi transfer twist after £100m Tottenham transfer | OneFootball

Gunners have held talks over a move for the midfielder, but any deal has just got trickier to complete

Arsenal are among those interested in the Morocco midfielder and have held initial talks over a summer deal as Mikel Arteta seeks to bolster his options ahead of the new season.

Lille were said to value Bouaddi, who signed a new contract with the French club in December last year - extending his deal through to the summer of 2029, at around £70million.

However, after seeing Tottenham agree an £100m deal with Newcastle for Sandro Tonali and Manchester City sign Elliot Anderson for £116m, Lille chairman Olivier Letang has hinted it would take a similar fee to let go of Bouaddi.

He said: "When I see Anderson move to Manchester City for £116 million and Tonali to Tottenham for £100 million, and they don’t have the potential for development that Ayyoub has because he possesses unique qualities.

“I have a price in mind, and we’ll see what happens."

Speaking to the Athletic about his future earlier in the summer, the 18-year-old said: "For the moment I'm only focused on the World Cup, I cannot answer to this right now.

“I’m really happy to know that some clubs are interested in me but for now I’m here focused on the World Cup with Morocco and we will try to give everything to do our best."

I have a price in mind, and we’ll see what happens

Olivier Letang

Man United have also been linked with a move for Bouaddi after missing out on Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham in a deal worth £85m.

According to reports, Man United will continue to monitor a wider group of midfielders in addition to the Morocco international.

Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni is another player apparently on United's shortlist, along with Bournemouth pair Tyler Adams and Alex Scott and Borussia Dortmund's Felix Nmecha.