Ex-Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has heaped praise on Lille team-mate Ayyoub Bouaddi and claims the ‘complete’ midfielder has the talent and ‘maturity’ to be playing for Real Madrid as early as next year.
Bouaddi broke into Lille’s first-team squad at the age of just 16 in 2023 and has gone on to establish himself as one of the most exciting young talents in French football over the last three seasons.
Now aged 18, Bouaddi has begun to attract the attentions of some of the biggest clubs in Europe and there is mounting speculation that the teenager may have played his last game for Lille.
Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco have both been credited with a strong interest in recent weeks, while Premier League champions Arsenal have reportedly approached Bouaddi’s entourage over a potential summer deal.
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It’s understood Lille have grown increasingly resigned to losing Bouaddi and would be prepared to do business should they receive an offer in the region of £60million for their prized possession.
An outstanding individual performance in Morocco’s World Cup opener with Brazil, which finished 1-1, has done little to quell those rumours surrounding Bouaddi’s future, with Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes left chasing shadows in midfield on Saturday night.
‘I’ve been amazed by his maturity and also his entourage is really good,’ former France international Giroud told BBC Radio 5 live when asked about his Lille team-mate.
‘His head is well done in the sense that he is calm, confident, he’s staying himself.
‘It’s a gift to have him in the team and I think Morocco is very, very pleased to have him.
‘He’s shown that from the first game and I think that’s just the beginning… 18 years old!’
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Giroud revealed how some of his pals had been comparing Bouaddi to Patrick Vieira and Sergio Busquets, two of the most revered central midfielders of their generation.
However, Giroud is reminded of former France and Chelsea team-mate N’Golo Kante when studying Bouaddi’s game and playing alongside the young midfielder.
‘I was talking with friends and they sent me pictures of Patrick Vieira and Sergio Busquets. They said he was a mix of both,’ he explained.
‘He’s not yet as good as Sergio Busquets technically but still, he’s got some skills. Patrick Vieira… maybe there’s a lack of power to compare with Patrick Vieira, but he will get stronger and bigger.
‘Over £60-70m, the prices now, I think it’s going to be tough to keep him at Lille.
‘But yeah, he’s a complete player, he’s very versatile, he’s all over the place, a bit like N’Golo Kante.’
According to Giroud, Bouaddi is far from the finished article and there are improvements to be made when it comes to the teen’s finishing.
After all, Bouaddi is still yet to score a single goal for either club or country – a statistic he will no doubt be desperate to put right sooner rather than later.
‘The only thing he should improve and he has to improve and he knows that, because we’ve been teasing him a lot about that this year, is his finishing, being more aggressive in front of goal,’ Giroud went on.
‘But look, if he’s got it then after he will play in Real Madrid next year so give him some time.’
Bouaddi made the decision to switch international allegiance from France to Morocco earlier this summer having represented Les Bleus at Under-16 level through to the Under-21 side.
He has made a total of 96 appearances in all competitions for Lille and is tied into a contract with the Ligue 1 outfit until June 2029.
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