Manchester City are set to bolster Enzo Maresca’s midfield options after agreeing a deal worth £86m for Lille star Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Maresca urged his bosses at the Etihad Stadium to get busy during the summer transfer window after Man City’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal.
Manchester City spend £116m to sign England’s Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest but Maresca was keen for further additions after Rodri’s £65m move to Barcelona.
Bouaddi attracted interest from a number of European giants before the World Cup and did his reputation no harm during the tournament, helping Morocco reach the quarter-finals before they were knocked out by France.
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Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea were all said to be interested in Bouaddi, who made just shy of 100 appearances for French side Lille.
But Man City have won the race to sign the highly-rated 18-year-old after agreeing a stunning deal worth €95m (£81.4m) plus €5m in potential add-ons.
Despite strengthening Maresca’s midfield with an £86m player, Manchester City remain interested in signing Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea, according to The Guardian.
Fernandez made it clear he wanted to leave Stamford Bridge earlier in the summer but a dream move to Real Madrid failed to materalise.
The Argentina World Cup finalist is also interested in a move to Man City, where he would reunite with ex-Chelsea boss Maresca.
But Chelsea want an eye-watering £120m for Fernandez and Man City value him ‘at a lower figure’.
Manchester City’s midfield looked shaky in their Premier League opener against Bournemouth but Maresca’s side came from behind to clinch a late 2-1 win.
Marcus Tavernier gave Bournemouth a first-half lead and looked set to have earned the Cherries an opening-day win before Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol scored late goals for City.
Man City matchwinner Gvardiol said: ‘Everyone is proud in the moment, it’s the opening game of the season and we know how important it is, especially with all the changes we’ve had in the previous weeks.
‘We need to enjoy this, we deserve it and I’m happy with the three points.’
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