Arsenal and Liverpool have held meetings with the representatives of Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The 18-year-old produced a fine performance asMorocco opened their World Cup campaign with a draw against Brazil on Saturday.
Bouaddi, who represented France at youth level before pledging his international allegiance to Morocco, shone in only his fourth appearance for the national team.
The teenager won nine ground duels and completed three dribbles, against an experienced Brazilian midfield featuring Bruno Guimaraes and Casemiro.
Bouaddi has made almost a century of appearances for Lille since making his debut at 16, with his rapid rise attracting interest from Europe’s top teams.
Arsenal and Liverpool make ‘direct contact’ to discuss deal for Ayyoub Bouaddi
Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that both Arsenal and Liverpool have made direct contact with the player’s camp. The two teams have held meetings with Bouaddi’s representatives in a bid to lure him to the Premier League.
Paris Saint-Germain are also in pursuit of the Moroccan, with Lille aware of the considerable interest.
TheLigue 1 side are understood to value Bouaddi at around €70m (£60.4m), and hope a bidding war can take the final fee past the £72m club-record sale that took Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal in 2019.
Lille reportedly prefer to sanction Bouaddi’s sale to a foreign side in a bid to avoid strengthening a direct rival.
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