Lille president cools City's midfield pursuit

Ayyoub Bouaddi's future has been one of the quieter subplots of City's summer, but Lille president Olivier Létang has now publicly poured cold water on the idea of a swift departure. The 18-year-old midfielder, identified by City's director of football Hugo Viana as a long-term target, is likely to remain in France, according to Létang.

City's interest has been anything but casual. CEO Ferran Soriano met Létang in person back in June to talk through the mechanics of a deal, and a fee in the region of £67m to £84m had been mooted. A loan-back arrangement for the 2026-27 season was taking shape as a compromise both sides could live with.

That all sounds like a transfer edging towards completion. Létang's latest remarks suggest otherwise.

"I told you last time I thought Ayyoub was going to stay, and I still stand by that," he said. "The idea remains the same: to have a competitive team."

The Lille chief was explicit about the conditions under which a sale could happen. "If clubs come in at the end of the transfer window for a particular position and we're not in a position to replace, we won't go ahead with the deal."

There is, though, a sense that this is not simply a club digging in for its own sake. Létang insists Bouaddi himself is in no rush to move. "We're in regular contact with Ayyoub; he's not in a hurry to leave, he's very keen to stay here too."

For an 18-year-old, the appeal of staying is obvious. "When you're 18 and at a club like LOSC, opportunity to play a significant number of matches including in the Champions League you naturally ask yourself, why leave now?"

City's pursuit of Bouaddi comes in the wake of a busy summer that saw the club break its transfer record with the £116m signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. That outlay may have raised expectations of further spending, but Lille's stance suggests this particular deal could stall unless the picture changes late in the window.

Létang, for his part, left the door ajar without committing to anything. "I'll let him speak for himself when the time is right."