“He’s like a computer,” the former Lille head of academy recruitment, Mathieu Frison, says of the €100m (£85.7m) Manchester City recruit Ayyoub Bouaddi. “You teach him something, he learns it and can do it immediately.” Bouaddi has the mountainous challenge at his new club of replacing the world’s best central midfielder. It would be difficult for anyone but at 18 it feels monumental, although those who know the Morocco international best would not bet against him.
Bouaddi has known only Lille and Ligue 1 but is entering one of the biggest clubs in the world where a season without a trophy is deemed a failure. For someone so young, however, he has plenty of experience. He made his European debut three days after his 16th birthday and has played three full seasons in the first team, culminating in a place at the World Cup this summer.
