Can Liverpool beat Man City to Ayyoub Bouaddi? David Ornstein drops a massive update on the €100m World Cup sensation.
It is the kind of breakout tournament narrative we have seen so many times before. A young player arrives at a World Cup as a highly rated prospect and leaves it as one of the most hot properties on the European continent.
It's happened again and this time it's Ayyoub Bouaddi. His exceptional performances for Morocco during their deep run in North America during the 2026 World Cup where they were eliminated by France at the Quarter Final stage have pushed him firmly into the global spotlight, with Liverpool among a host of elite clubs tracking him.
The Reds have been keeping close tabs on the 18-year-old holding midfielder for some time. Club scouts were regular fixtures at Lille’s European fixtures throughout the season, and there is no doubt that Anfield's recruitment team is incredibly serious about his profile.
However, as is so often the case in the high-stakes world of modern transfer recruitment, the landscape is complicated and this time very complicated.
Speaking on theAthletic FC podcast, David Ornstein provided some crucial context on where Liverpool actually stand in this race.
While the club's admiration for the player is immense, any potential move to Merseyside remains strictly conditional.
Ornstein explained that the hierarchy "love" the Moroccan international, but a formal move is highly unlikely to materialize unless a significant space opens up in Andoni Iraola’s midfield first:
"A lot of speculation about midfield. That would only be one that might happen if somebody leaves and Ayyoub Bouaddi who we talked about before, Liverpool are among the clubs that love him, as I said previously who doesn’t, so we will have to see on that one."
Under Iraola, squad planning is already well underway as the Basque manager looks to fine-tune his tactical setup. On paper, Liverpool’s central midfield engine room looks reasonably well-stocked. Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Curtis Jones represent a versatile, highly technical core.
Iraola is understandably keen to thoroughly assess his in-house options before sanctioning massive outlays. But if an established midfielder does end up departing Anfield over the coming weeks, the door to a Bouaddi pursuit could swing wide open.
As things stand according to reports, it is Manchester City who are pushing hardest to secure his signature.Reports from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano and others indicate that City are already in advanced negotiations for a deal that could total €100 million.
Their new director of football, Hugo Viana, and manager Enzo Maresca view Bouaddi as a foundational, long-term piece of their post-Guardiola rebuild.Unlike Liverpool, City are ready to pay the premium immediately and integrate him directly into their first team.
There is no denying Bouaddi’s generational talent. At just 18, his positional intelligence, physical maturity, and technical security under pressure at a World Cup were nothing short of remarkable. He has all the traits of a midfielder who will dominate European football for the next decade.
But Liverpool fans must look at this realistically. The club has always been disciplined under Michael Edwards who has now departed but worked alongside Richard Hughes and Richard Hughes when they worked together they do not panic-buy, or do they easily enter bidding wars that reach the €100m mark for teenage prospects unless the pathway is entirely clear.
Unless Manchester City's talks collapse or a major Anfield exit materializes rapidly, Bouaddi looks destined for the Etihad rather than the Kop. It is a frustrating reality, but Liverpool's focus remains on finding immediate, cost-effective solutions to elevate Iraola’s squad for the season ahead.
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