The Dominoes That Could Fall Once Man City Complete Ayyoub Bouaddi Deal

Manchester City’s imminent signing of Ayyoub Bouaddi might not be it for new faces at the Etihad Stadium this summer, and could potentially still have other consequences elsewhere before the summer transfer window closes next week.

Bouaddi is expected to join City from Ligue 1’s Lille for a guaranteed $111 million (£81.3 million), topped up by add-ons to a total fee just shy of $117 million. That is on top of the $153 million deal that took Elliot Anderson to east Manchester from Nottingham Forest earlier in the summer.

But with Rodri now sold to Barcelona, Tijjani Reijnders starting afresh in Saudi Arabia and the growing likelihood that Nico González also joins Newcastle United before the transfer deadline, City could comfortably recruit a third big-money addition for the center of the pitch.

González did not make it onto the pitch in Sunday’s comeback win over Bournemouth. Marc Guéhi surprisingly started in midfield, something Enzo Maresca admitted he cooked up out of nowhere in the days leading up the game: “Sometimes you visualize things.”

Man City Short of Midfielders Even With Bouaddi Incoming

Marc Guehi — Marc Guéhi started in midfield against Bournemouth. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

The Guéhi experiment could equally have been perceived as a pointed message to City’s senior leadership that the midfield still lacks numbers. Mateo Kovačić, into the last year of his contract and turning 33 before the end of this season, was left on the bench until replacing an injured Anderson, who was already struggling to get to grips with his new role.

Nico O’Reilly, a midfielder in the academy but successfully repurposed into a left back at the senior level by Pep Guardiola, started in the No. 10 position but was largely ineffective.

Without going into the market for a third new midfield recruit, Maresca’s squad may lack the depth needed to compete in four different competitions over the coming months.

$425 Million Midfield Rebuild Offset by Sales

Tijjani Reijnders, Enzo Maresca — Selling unwanted players for big money is funding the spend. | Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Alex Scott and Adam Wharton are all rumored options for the next central midfield target. Fernández, who worked with Maresca to great effect at Chelsea, is not a new target and, despite an arbitrary Chelsea deadline to submit offers now passing, a late approach for the Argentine hasn’t been ruled out.

Fernández would potentially command a $163.7 million (£120 million) fee, which would break City’s transfer record set by Anderson and take the overall midfield spend to around $425 million (£312 million) for the summer. Chelsea would ideally like to keep Fernández, but taking the second biggest transfer fee in Premier League history probably makes it worth it for a player who was internally disciplined last season for his public pining for Real Madrid.

But an enormous spend is underpinned by a lot of money coming back into the club.

If González couldn’t get into the team even before Bouaddi is through the door, the arrival of the Moroccan teenager effectively seals his fate. The Times reports a proposed $68.2 million (£50 million) deal for the Spaniard to head to Newcastle is getting “closer” to completion.

On top of already selling Rodri, Reijnders, James Trafford, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké for around $248 million (£182 million), even more money will come back into the club from the expected sale of Savinho to Tottenham Hotspur for up to $115.9 million (£85 million). Omar Marmoush is set to join Spurs on loan, before a $68.2 million transfer completes next year.

By the time City are done selling, transfer fees for the summer—excluding Marmoush’s projected 2027 sale—could exceed $432 million (£317 million). With nominal fees also spent on Jeremy Monga, Pierce Charles and Geronimo Rulli, it would be a tiny net spend overall.

Bouaddi Transfer Pulls Real Madrid in

Thiago Pitarch — Lille have an ambitious replacement in mind. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

Bouaddi joining City cannot happen in isolation, and Lille are in the market for a replacement.

Even after banking a massive fee, the Ligue 1 club is not the type to spend big on a superstar. Instead, they will seek to polish up another young gem, with The Athletic reporting that Real Madrid’s 19-year-old talent Thiago Pitarch is the one.

So far, Los Blancos have rejected an approach from Lille and intend for Pitarch to stay. Lille manager Davide Ancelotti was formerly a Real Madrid assistant coach under his father, Carlo.

Midfielders Who Have Left Man City Since 2020

The reason that Manchester City need to have this midfield overhaul is because of the numerous departures from the center of the pitch, supercharged in the last 12 months.

Midfielder	Club Joined	Fee	Year
David Silva	Real Sociedad	-	2020
Fernandinho	Ath. Paranaense	-	2022
İlkay Gündoğan	Barcelona	-	2023
İlkay Gündoğan	Galatasaray	-	2025
Bernardo Silva	Real Madrid	-	2026
Tijjani Reijnders	Al Qadsiah	$71 million	2026
Rodri	Barcelona	$89 million	2026

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