Arsenal negotiating personal terms to sign £80m star

Arsenal signed Declan Rice in the summer of 2023 for a mega £105m fee. It was the largest transfer in the club’s history. For a period of time, it was the most expensive deal in Premier League history too.

As Josh Kroenke said a few weeks ago when reflecting upon what helped the Gunners win the title, that signing was a “big moment” in Mikel Arteta’s reign.

It proved that Arsenal are not here to muck around. They had signed one of the best midfielders in the league and beaten Manchester City to the punch too.

Since Rice moved to the Emirates, he has become one of the best players in the world, someone who is now in the conversation to win the Ballon d’Or.

That said, he needs a bit of help in the middle of the park. A new midfielder is required this summer.

Arsenal in talks to sign World Cup star

Arsenal made a splash last summer by welcoming plenty of new recruits to north London, recruits that battle hardened them and helped them finally secure a first league crown in over two decades.

Yet, Andrea Berta and Co cannot afford to rest on their laurels. Now is the time to go in for the kill, now is the time to capitalise while they are on top.

Morgan Rogers and Julian Alvarez remain priority targets to bolster the forward line but how about a little further back? What’s the latest on their pursuit of new midfielders?

Well, amid claims that Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali is now wanted by Spurs, new reports suggest that he would want to join Arsenal over the Lilywhites. That would be another incredible rejection for Tottenham just one year after the Eberechi Eze saga.

There’s another impressive midfielder on their radar and he goes by the name of Ayyoub Bouaddi. If you are not familiar with the name then we beg you to watch his performance against Brazil for Morocco at the World Cup last week.

However, Arsenal’s interest does not stem from that sole performance, they have been tracking him for a long time now.

New reports from Caught Offside provide the latest on their pursuit of the Lille midfielder, nothing that Berta has done a lot of work on a potential deal for Bouaddi.

It’s stated that talks are ongoing with the player’s camp to find an agreement on personal terms, discussions that are said to have been very positive. It looks like everything is moving in the right direction here.

If Lille are to sell the 18-year-old then it could take a fee between £70m-£80m to extract him from France.

Arsenal will face competition from the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United for his signature.

Why Bouaddi would be a dream partner for Declan Rice

Earlier this week it was revealed that Rice had been having injections to manage a back problem throughout the last few weeks of the season.

This Arsenal team, so it would seem, were running on empty as they approached the Champions League final. Jurrien Timber appeared as a sub in Budapest despite a lengthy injury problem and has now been ruled out of the World Cup.

Bukayo Saka is also struggling with an Achilles problem and did not start England’s opener with Croatia as a result.

So, Arsenal need more depth, not just in attack but also in midfield. Midfield is one of the biggest priorities as far as that point is concerned.

On paper, Arteta has plenty of options at his disposal. It is likely that Martin Zubimendi and Rice will remain the first choice pairing heading into 2026/27 but Mikel Merino will be back from injury and Myles Lewis-Skelly has now emerged as a genuine option in that area of the pitch.

Yet, there is a sense they are missing a player capable of rotating with Zubimendi in the no.6 position.

Rice loves playing alongside him and admitted as much back in the winter. “It’s been great to play with him. I’m learning a lot and we’ve built a really good partnership.”

Yet, the Spaniard’s performances began to wane during the back end of the season, largely due to the volume of minutes he had played. Only his partner in crime in midfield had played more among outfield players.

So, the arrival of Bouaddi would kill two birds with one stone. Not only would they be adding a world-class option to their midfield but they’d also be adding more depth.

So, why is the teenager so highly rated? Handed his Lille debut at the age of 16, he has been catching the eye in Ligue 1 for a good few years now. For his age, he’s already got plenty of experience and his performance against Brazil demonstrated this is an elite talent already. To put in a performance that good against the most successful nation in World Cup history, on your World Cup debut, was mightily impressive.

Not a forward thinking player – he didn’t score last season and only registered one assist – he is the perfect no.6, a player who could allow Rice to play as the 8 and rampage forward as he has been doing so well over the last two years.

The Moroccan sensation has two key attributes that could see him walk into the team over Zubimendi and star alongside Rice. He is a brilliant tackler, while his tall and wirey 6 foot 2 frame enables him to power through the lines with ease.

As Arsenal writer Adam Keys puts it, “Bouaddi has those Vieira / Diaby type long legs that allows him to tackle for all directions, and drive through the middle with big, rangey strides.”

In that regard, he’s like the club’s record signing when he first arrived. A defensive-minded player with a powerful carrying ability. For that attribute, in particular, he would represent a big upgrade on Zubimendi and someone Rice would love to play alongside.

At £80m, it’s an expensive deal but the potential this young kid has is remarkable.