Man City on verge of deal for £85m star as Enzo Fernandez deadline nears

Manchester City have endured a strangely quiet summer by their own standards. For a club so used to owning the rumour mill, the transfer window has so far been dominated by just one major signing in the shape of Elliot Anderson.

That, though, is about to change in dramatic fashion. Enzo Maresca’s side are now plotting a midfield rebuild that would take their spending into the hundreds of millions, with two of European football’s most sought-after young talents both firmly in their sights.

The headline pursuit remains Enzo Fernandez. City are keen admirers of the Chelsea and Argentina star, and a deadline of 5pm Friday has been set for them to lodge a formal £120m bid if they want to get a deal over the line, with Chelsea keen not to let a long-running saga affect their early season preparations.

Enzo Maresca was predictably tight-lipped when quizzed on the growing speculation on Friday.

“He is a player from another club… I don’t think it’s correct to talk about other players. I’m not going to say anything about players who are not with us,” he said, before being asked directly about beating Friday’s deadline.

But while all eyes have been on Stamford Bridge, City have been quietly working on a second, equally significant midfield addition – and this one appears to be much further down the road.

Ayyoub Bouaddi has emerged as one of the brightest young midfielders in world football over the past year. The Lille academy graduate underlined his rapidly growing reputation with a series of composed, mature performances at the World Cup, showcasing the press-resistance, passing range and tactical intelligence that has seen him likened to a young Fabinho by some scouts, and to a more progressive Casemiro by others.

His performances on the biggest stage did nothing to cool the interest of Europe’s elite, and now, according to Fabrizio Romano, City are on the brink of confirming a €100m (£85m) deal.

“Not the whole world is Enzo Fernandez, because Manchester City are also working at the same time to close the deal for Ayyoub Bouaddi. The agreement with the player is done, so the contract with Ayyoub Bouaddi is closed,” Romano reported on his Youtube channel.

“City are prepared to make the player happy by bringing him to the club now, this summer, 2026, instead of the initial plan when they started this negotiation to let him stay one more season at Lille.

“Man City want Bouaddi now and Bouaddi wants to go to Man City now, so that’s the plan. Now City are in very advanced negotiations to get Bouaddi to the club immediately, so the deal is reaching its final stages.”

It’s a significant shift from the framework City were originally working towards, which had envisaged Bouaddi spending one further campaign in Ligue 1 to continue his development before making the move to the Etihad. Instead, both club and player appear to have decided there’s no reason to wait.

Bouaddi’s rise has been one of French football’s standout stories over the last twelve months. Still a teenager, he has already established himself as a first-team regular at Lille and a full Morocco international, with several pundits citing his composure on the ball as being well beyond his years.

One respected Ligue 1 analyst recently described him as “the most complete young defensive midfielder to come out of France since Kanté,” while legendary midfielder Patrick Vieira has praised his maturity.

“Really impressive, he’s only 18 but he plays like a 30-year-old,” the French World Cup winner told the Rest is Football.

“He’s got the tactical awareness, I think he’s always well positioned. He’s got the technical ability to play out from the back and a really strong personality.”

With Bouaddi’s arrival now seemingly a formality, attention will inevitably swing back to whether City can also land Fernandez before the deadline passes – a double coup that would take their spending in the centre of the park over £300m following the arrival of Anderson.