Arsenal, Liverpool among teams interested in Moroccan wonderkid originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
One of the teams to look out for at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is Morocco, with the defending AFCON champions a perennial dark horse in recent tournaments, including their semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they lost to France. The squad includes the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Diaz, and Noussair Mazraoui, but the real star of their opening match of the tournament against Brazil was Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The 18-year-old would prove to be too much for the Brazilians to handle, recording 60 passes, five interceptions, while winning out on 9 duels in the midfield. Given that it's his World Cup debut, this is rather impressive for someone at that young of an age on the global stage. But for those keyed into Ligue 1, these numbers aren't too surprising given that Bouaddi recorded 33 interceptions and won out on 49 tackles during 42 games with Lille this season.
All of this has caught the eyes of multiple of the bigger clubs around the world, making the Moroccan midfielder one of the names to watch during the summer transfer window, with multiple Premier League sides looking at acquiring his services, chief among them: ****** nal and Liverpool.
According to a recent report from Fabrizio Romano, both English sides have been in contact with Bouaddi's representatives about making a move in the coming weeks.
One of the teams to look out for at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is Morocco, with the defending AFCON champions a perennial dark horse in recent tournaments, including their semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they lost to France. The squad includes the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Diaz, and Noussair Mazraoui, but the real star of their opening match of the tournament against Brazil was Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The 18-year-old would prove to be too much for the Brazilians to handle, recording 60 passes, five interceptions, while winning out on 9 duels in the midfield. Given that it's his World Cup debut, this is rather impressive for someone at that young of an age on the global stage. But for those keyed into Ligue 1, these numbers aren't too surprising given that Bouaddi recorded 33 interceptions and won out on 49 tackles during 42 games with Lille this season.
All of this has caught the eyes of multiple of the bigger clubs around the world, making the Moroccan midfielder one of the names to watch during the summer transfer window, with multiple Premier League sides looking at acquiring his services, chief among them: ****** nal and Liverpool.
According to a recent report from Fabrizio Romano, both English sides have been in contact with Bouaddi's representatives about making a move in the coming weeks.
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