“Final stages” – Man City close in on Ligue 1 superstar as Rodri replacement

Ayyoub Bouaddi’s move to Man City is getting closer, with Fabrizio Romano reporting on the transfer today.

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It’s been a busy morning for Fabrizio Romano – they usually are, in early August. He’s reporting in one of the big stories of the day, which is Rodri’s emerging move to Barcelona.

While the Blaugrana’s initial €50m offer has been rejected, there seems to be a lot of confidence that things will move quickly towards a conclusion. If that happens, Man City will have lost a key midfield player without much time to replace them.

There’s a lot of talk that Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea could be their chosen man to come in and replace Rodri. But Enzo is more of a box-crasher than a natural tempo setter. If they want a passer, the better option is young Lille star Ayyoub Bouaddi – and given the Rodri news it should be no surprise that the Cityzens are closing in on the Morocco star.

Man City’s midfield gap could be filled instantly

Fabrizio Romano’s latest update claims that the negotiations for Bouaddi are “moving to the final stages”, and that a deal is “very close” between the two clubs.

Talks on the player side remain ongoing, but they shouldn’t be a problem given how much of a dream move this could be for the young Ligue 1 star.

The question now is whether this deal is wrapped up before the Rodri move happens. Could we potentially see both Enzo and Bouaddi join City as a two-part replacement for the Spaniard?

It’s going to be a very interesting final few weeks of the window at the Etihad, that’s for sure.