Manchester City Target Ayyoub Bouaddi as Rodri Heads to Barcelona

Manchester City are closing in on Lille’s teenage prodigy Ayyoub Bouaddi in a move that could trigger one of the summer’s most significant midfield reshuffles – and clear the runway for Rodri to join Barcelona.

City have agreed personal terms with the 18-year-old, and while the clubs are still haggling over the final details, Lille value the Morocco international at around €100m (£85m). It is a price tag that underlines how highly Europe’s elite rate him – and how serious Enzo Maresca is about reshaping the heart of his new team.

Maresca’s new midfield takes shape

Maresca wants Bouaddi in his first-team squad straight away, not parked on the bench or sent on loan. City face Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday, then open their Premier League campaign at Bournemouth on 23 August. The timing matters. Maresca is trying to build a new rhythm in midfield, and he wants his players in the building now.

If City can close the Bouaddi deal, the youngster will walk into a changing room already adjusting to life after Bernardo Silva and getting used to another big-money arrival. Elliot Anderson joined from Nottingham Forest last month for £116m and is expected to feature prominently. Together, Bouaddi and Anderson would give City’s midfield a very different look: younger, more direct, less reliant on the old guard who have carried the club through the last cycle of titles.

The shift also reflects a cold reality. City are preparing for life without Rodri.

Rodri edges towards Barcelona

Barcelona are increasingly confident of landing the 30-year-old, but their opening offer of €45m was swiftly rejected last week. They will have to come back stronger. The Catalan club see Rodri as the anchor for their next midfield, yet they need to sell before they can fully commit.

Ferran Torres is the key. Barcelona are ready to cash in on the forward, who has attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain. His sale would finance the Rodri deal and unlock the move that both clubs now seem to be working towards.

Inside City, there is a sense of resignation. With a year left on his contract, Rodri has not yet been sold, but the mood suggests his departure is a matter of when, not if. Bouaddi’s imminent arrival only sharpens that feeling.

United move for Page as Rashford returns

Across Manchester, United are trying to steal a march of their own in the market.

They are pushing for Leicester teenager Louis Page, an 18-year-old midfielder who has also caught Arsenal’s eye. United believe they can win that race, with Page understood to favour a move to Old Trafford. For a club that has often paid heavily for ready-made stars, the pursuit of Page fits a quieter, more strategic line of thinking.

On the training pitch, another storyline is unfolding. Marcus Rashford has joined up with United at their County Kildare training camp after his post-World Cup break, returning to a club where his future has rarely felt straightforward.

The 28-year-old has spent the last season and a half out on loan, at Barcelona and Aston Villa, after a breakdown in his relationship with a club executive and former head coach Ruben Amorim. That rift pushed him to the margins. Now, those tensions have eased and Rashford is focused on working under Michael Carrick.

The truce does not guarantee a long-term stay. He could still leave before the end of the window. For now, though, he is back in United colours, running through drills in Ireland while the club chase the next wave of midfield talent.

In Manchester, both blue and red, the summer is being defined by who controls the centre of the pitch – and who dares to let go of the players who once made it theirs.