After Diomande: Liverpool Surge Into Race to Sign Ayyoub Bouaddi

James joined Football FanCast in 2016 following a three-year spell working for Shoot Magazine, working his way up from freelance writer to editor, before moving across to GMS in 2020.

James has created exclusive, opinion and news content on GIVEMESPORT, with a predominant focus on the Premier League.

He has also developed strong working relationships with top tier journalists such as Fabrizio Romano, Dharmesh Sheth and Ben Jacobs, regularly chatting to them as part of an exclusives initiative. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account Liverpool have surged into the race to sign Lille sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi, although one of their Premier League rivals are the favourites to land the World Cup wonderkid, according to TEAMtalk.

Liverpool are facing a big summer of change at Anfield after the departures of Arne Slot, Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konate, as they enter a new era under the leadership of Andoni Iraola.

The Spaniard will be tasked with delivering a stronger Premier League campaign after the Reds finished 25 points adrift of champions Arsenal as they looked to defend their trophy.

The Merseysiders also need a strong squad to compete in the Champions League simultaneously, with attack a key area after Salah's exit and with Hugo Ekitike likely to be out until 2027 because of injury.

Liverpool were pushing to complete a deal to sign RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande before the World Cup started, but they missed that deadline.

The Reds are making progress on the player side of negotiations though, according to GIVEMESPORT sources, with club chiefs confident that the 19-year-old wants to make the switch to Anfield. Agreeing a fee with Leipzig will be more difficult.

Liverpool are also looking at strengthening other areas of the pitch too.

According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool have thundered into the race to sign Lille sensation Bouaddi, who announced himself onto the world stage with a stunning display in Morocco's 1-1 draw with Brazil in their opening 2026 World Cup group game.

The Reds have been joined by Manchester City, who are looking to transform their midfield options, while Manchester United are also interested, although Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are seen as the current frontrunners to sign the wonderkid, as per the report.

Liverpool could look at strengthening their central midfield options in this window, with Curtis Jones attracting strong interest from Serie A, while Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that an exit for Alexis Mac Allister could be one to watch in the next few months.

The report adds that Lille are ready to demand a fee in excess of £60m for the talented 18-year-old, as the race for his signature among some of the top clubs in Europe intensifies.

If the Ligue 1 outfit were successful in bringing in that number for the Moroccan, it would represent a world-record transfer fee for a teenager, surpassing the £53m Chelsea paid Southampton to sign Romeo Lavia in the summer of 2023.

It could prove to be a bargain for a player who looks set to have a huge future in the game, if the early years of his career are anything to go by.

Despite the fact he is 18 years of age, he has already made almost 100 first-team appearances for Lille, while he dominated senior players like Casemiro when Morocco faced Brazil at the weekend.

Bouaddi was described as a 'superstar in the making' by Joe Thomlinson following his display against the Brazilians, and it's hard to disagree when you see his athleticism, physicality, composure and reading of the game at such a young age.

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