Manchester City eye World Cup breakout star to continue midfield rebuild

Manchester City are interested in Morocco’s Ayyoub Bouaddi as they consider continuing their costly makeover of the midfield. City, who are making Elliot Anderson the most expensive British player ever in a £116m from Nottingham Forest, are admirers of Bouaddi. The 18-year-old Lille player was one of the breakout stars of the World Cup, helping Morocco reach the quarter-finals. He captained France at Under-21 level before switching to Morocco, including appearing against the country of his birth in the last eight. City have lost Bernardo Silva from the midfield, with the captain opting to join Real Madrid on free transfer after his contract expired. While Anderson is coming in, there are doubts about the futures of Mateo Kovacic, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez. New manager Enzo Maresca is also prioritising full-backs as he looks to revamp the squad he inherited from Pep Guardiola.