Ayyoub Bouaddi is undoubtedly one of Europe’s most exciting young midfielders, but Manchester United has to think carefully about a transfer this summer.
If you didn’t know Ayyoub Bouaddi before the World Cup, you are certainly aware now after he had a breakout performance against Brazil for Morocco.
His displays this summer have shone a spotlight on his talent, but Manchester United have been interested for over a year. Only 18, he is already expected to make a big money move away from Lille this summer.
Lille want to break their transfer record with the sale of Bouaddi, which prices him at over £72m. Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Manchester City have been linked, but now Ben Jacobs has told The United Stand that United have “muscled” their way into the conversations for his signature.
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Manchester United must decide what the expectation would be from Ayyoub Bouaddi
There is no doubt that Bouaddi is a fantastic midfielder, with a long list of attributes that make him well-suited to Premier League football and Manchester United.
But whether he is a good fit for United this summer is an entirely different question.
Losing Casemiro to his contract expiring and also Manuel Ugarte to an ACL tear means that United can’t afford project midfielders this summer, which Bouaddi absolutely is, despite how good he has looked at the World Cup in a top-tier Morocco side.
Bouaddi for Lille hasn’t looked as polished and complete as he has internationally, which means whoever does sign Bouaddi this summer will need to have patience to allow him time to grow and develop further.
So the question Ineos needs to answer before deciding to sign Bouaddi is, what are the expectations for him during the 2026/27 season? Is it to settle, grow, and get better over the course of the season as a rotational player similar to Leny Yoro? Or do the United need him to dominate and start every game?
This is so important because if expectations are too high, it could harm him when he still has lots of growth to go. If United can’t give him the time to develop, then signing a slightly older but more ready-made prospect would be smarter this summer.
Bouaddi is the cherry on the cake of a midfield rebuild, not the cake itself at the moment.
This is unless United signs a player like Mamadou Sangare as the starter, for Bouaddi to share game time with, to begin with.
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Does a Kobbie Mainoo and Bouaddi midfield partnership work?
There is a common misconception that Bouaddi and Kobbie Mainoo can’t function together in a midfield.
Mainoo is United’s lead midfielder, no matter what happens, so any signing needs to work well alongside him.
Once the first question is answered by United, this needs to be the second consideration.
On the surface, Bouaddi and Mainoo would be a strong pairing, with their game still at such an early stage, with both set to improve in the coming years.
Bouaddi brings the possession-winning physicality that Mainoo perhaps hasn’t quite mastered yet, while his progressive passing also makes up for Mainoo still improving in that area. Bouaddi wins a lot of duels, tackles, and physically gets around the pitch an awful lot, covering so much ground.
Whether this partnership works in actuality is a question for Ineos.
But if United are happy with the answer to both of these questions, then £75m or so on Bouaddi would be excellent.
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