caughtoffside
·2 July 2026
"Really pushing" - Man Utd now in the conversation to sign "phenomenal talent" Ayyoub Bouaddi

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·2 July 2026

Manchester United are now reportedly one of the clubs in the conversation for Lille midfield wonderkid Ayyoub Bouaddi.
According to Ben Jacobs, speaking on The United Stand, Man Utd are now said to have “muscled” their way into the the battle for Bouaddi’s signature.
Jacobs says Lille are “really pushing” for a sale, and are opening the door to clubs, but still insist on this being done on their terms, which means keeping him for one more year.
Watch below for more details as Jacobs discusses the Bouaddi situation alongside talk of other United transfer targets in midfield, with host Beth Tucker also praising the prospect of signing Bouaddi, who she described as a “phenomenal talent”…
United will surely face plenty of competition for Bouaddi, however, so it remains to be seen how realistic this deal is, particularly with Lille’s insistence that he stay one more year, which probably wouldn’t be that useful for Michael Carrick and co.
Jacobs has recently discussed Bouaddi’s future on talkSPORT as well, suggesting that Manchester City may be the best-placed to sign the 18-year-old at the moment.
“Bouaddi of Morocco is a player that they’re (City) looking at very closely. Manchester United like him. Chelsea and Arsenal have the player on their radar and Bayern Munich too,” Jacobs said earlier this week.
“And this is a fascinating transfer story because Lille are prepared to sell but they heavily favour a deal for 2027. Man City have shown they are willing to at least discuss this that put forwards a loan back or a pre-agreement, so the player can do one more season with Lille.”
Meanwhile, we’ve previously received information from sources about Arsenal going strongly for Bouaddi, though this has seemingly not yet developed into anything concrete, perhaps due to the player’s participation at the World Cup slowing things down.
Bouaddi surely has a big future in the game and could be a major asset for any one of United, City, Arsenal, or a number of other elite clubs around Europe.
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