Ayyoub Bouaddi: Lille’s best prospect since Eden Hazard being linked with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea after running rings around Real Madrid

Bouaddi was born in Senlis in northern France and began playing football at the age of five in nearby Creil. Despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, he chose to join Lille in 2021, when he was still only 13.

“Ayyoub was an obvious choice: tall, at ease in midfield, with great technique and vision,” former coach Georges Tournay told L’Equipe. “He was destined for success, a bit like Raphael Varane.”

Just over two years after arriving at Lille, Bouaddi signed his first professional contract with the Ligue 1 outfit. “I’m very happy,” Bouaddi told Les Dogues’ official website. “Becoming a pro here was a goal for me. What’s next? I just want to continue performing and working every day to eventually join the senior squad.”

He would achieve that particular goal far quicker than anyone expected.

• The big break

  Bouaddi progressed rapidly through Lille’s youth sector and had already appeared for the reserves in the fifth tier of French football when then-first team coach Paulo Fonseca named him in his starting line-up for the Conference League clash with KI Klaksvik on October 5, 2023.

  Bouaddi was just 16 years and three days old – making him the youngest player ever to appear in a UEFA club cup competition, as well as Lille’s youngest player since 1981. Fonseca enthused at the time, “We have discovered a player for the future.” But also one for the present, as it transpired.

  Just two weeks after featuring against KI, Bouaddi came on as a second-half substitute in a game against Brest, thus becoming the youngest Ligue 1 player of the 21st century, and he would line out for the senior team a further 16 times before the 2023-24 campaign concluded. It did not come as a surprise, then, to see Lille extend Bouaddi’s contract until 2027 during the summer.

  “I am proud and happy to be able to continue the adventure with LOSC, the one that gave me my chance and allowed me to make my professional debut,” the midfielder enthused. “My ambitions for next season? To give everything to achieve the club’s objectives and make our supporters proud.”

  How it’s going

  Lille fans couldn’t have been any prouder of Bouaddi after his ridiculously composed display in the shock but fully deserved 1-0 win over reigning European champions Madrid. Despite being pitted against the likes of Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, the teenager was the picture of composure in the middle of the park, completing 43 of his 44 passes on the night.

  https://twitter.com/i/status/1841598388040818788

  • “You saw exactly what I did,” coach Bruno Genesio told reporters in his post-match press conference. “He showed all the potential and talent he was. We all know what he’s capable of. He has the talent to play at this level.”

    Bouaddi proved that again in Lille’s last Champions League match just before the November international break, with the youngster named Player of the Match after the 1-1 draw with Juventus thanks to another incredibly composed display in front of the back four.

  • Getty Images

    Biggest strengths

    Bouaddi is still very young but he appears to have that rare ability to know exactly what’s going on all around him no matter where he is on the pitch. He’s highly adept at both winning the ball (no Lille player regained possession more times against Juve) before using it swiftly and effectively. He’s not just content to pass to just his centre-backs, either, as Bouaddi is always looking for team-mates in space in the final third.

    He also never seems to be ruffled, even when receiving possession in tight spaces, probably because he knows he can always rely on his combination of awareness and quick feet to get him out of trouble.
  • Getty

    Room for improvement

    At just 17, Bouaddi still has a lot of growing to do, both from a physical and mental perspective. However, his tall but slender frame is as reminiscent of Sergio Busquets as his style of play, while it’s worth noting that at Lille he’s considered one of the more mature youngsters they’ve ever produced. This is a studious kid who has always attached a great level of importance to his education, and he demonstrates a rare level of intelligence on the pitch for one so young.

    Consequently, while Bouaddi did get sent off in a Ligue 1 game last season for picking up two yellow cards, Genesio is not in the least bit worried about the France Under-21 international’s temperament, or his ability to cope with the pressure that comes with playing at the highest level.

    “He was held back a little by an injury at the start of the season, which slowed his progress a little, but because he’s a boy with a very, very good head on his shoulders, he gradually came back, and that’s a great reward for him,” Genesio told reporters.

    “Of course, you have to know how to constantly prove yourself in football. But I don’t think there’s too much to worry about when it comes to Ayyoub.”

    Lille president Olivier Letang is also supremely confident that Bouaddi, the son of a bank manager and a human resources employee, is made of the right stuff: “He is smart and surrounded by good people,” he told the club’s official website. “He works hard, he’s progressing and he already has a significant amount of experience. Despite his young age, he is already a player we are counting to achieve our objectives.”

  • Getty Images Sport

    The next… Adrien Rabiot?

    A tall, elegant French teenager with long hair that’s adept at recycling possession, Bouaddi has almost inevitable been compared to Adrien Rabiot, who played the game with a similar mix of simplicity and precociousness when he first broke into the PSG first team more than a decade ago.

    Bouaddi obviously still has some filling out to do, while he’d also need to eventually add more of an attacking threat to his game (as Rabiot has done over the past few years), but the similarities between the pair are undeniable.

    There is one key difference, though, and it’s a good one: Bouaddi seems far more grounded. He is confident rather than cocky, and there have been no reports of him – or his family – getting carried away by the hype he’s generated over the past year.
  • Getty

    What comes next?

    Bouaddi is solely focused on nailing down a regular starting spot at Lille under Genesio. Of course, if he continues to impress in the Champions League – who are presently on course to qualify for the knockout stage – the interest in his services will only intensify.

    Indeed, it’s believed that Juventus have now joined the Premier League’s elite in the race for Bouaddi’s signature after being left very impressed by his performance against Thiago Motta’s team earlier this month. Unsurprisingly, former Lille boss Fonseca is also reportedly keen to be reunited with the teenager at AC Milan, having made the move to San Siro during the summer.

    Lille will rightly try to hold onto their latest academy gem for as long as possible, but, as we saw with Leny Yoro, who joined Manchester United in July, they will let a homegrown hero leave for the right price.

    So, while Bouaddi seems very happy where he is right now, he might not celebrate many more birthdays at the Stade Mauroy.