Manchester City have made a significant investment in the young midfielder, who has already represented France from under-16 to under-21 level and is regarded as a huge loss for Les Bleus. Bouaddi has consistently mixed with – and surpassed – older players, quickly improving as he rapidly went through each step to the top. He was 16 when he featured under Landry Chauvin's France under-18s and on his 17th birthday he faced Real Madrid in the Champions League, playing 90 minutes against Jude Bellingham et al as his side won 1-0.
Bouaddi has been described by a former coach as a 'very intelligent boy who adapts quickly, capable of playing in every position in the middle'. He is also a deep thinker, someone able to cut out the distractions at home and on the pitch. "On the bus, while everyone is watching YouTube videos or listening to music, he will play chess for one or two hours," Mathieu Frison, the former Lille head of academy recruitment, says. "In the evening when all the players played Fifa or were on their phones, he studied mathematics, physics, science. His parents didn’t need to push him to do this – he wanted to learn."
Bouaddi has passed all his exams a year early and is studying for a mathematics degree remotely. He is also capable of speaking English, which will help him adapt to life at Manchester City. The club have faith in him, although plenty of the expenditure is on promise rather than a completed article. He is not someone who creates highlight reels but he does the dirty work and plays for the team.
Manchester City's new signing will have a mountainous challenge at his new club of replacing the best central midfielder in the world, Rodri, who has left for Barcelona. However, those who know Bouaddi best would not bet against him.