Viana: Bouaddi was always Man City's top transfer target
Man City director Hugo Viana says Bouaddi was always the club's primary midfield target, with talks held with Lille's president before the World Cup.
· Kickhell
Updated Sep 18, 2026
Manchester City's Director of Football Hugo Viana has revealed that 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi was the club's primary target throughout the 2026 summer transfer window, with talks beginning well before the World Cup.
"Since the beginning [we were obsessed with him]," Viana said in an interview with City Studios. "We've followed him especially for the last year and we had a conversation with the President of Lille before the World Cup. Bouaddi was always the target."
Bouaddi joined City from Lille in late August as part of a busy summer window that also brought in Enzo Fernández, Elliot Anderson, Iliman Ndiaye and Allan, among others. Despite arriving less than a month ago, the Moroccan has already made an impression at the Etihad.
Viana highlighted Bouaddi's composure and technical quality as defining attributes. "If we had to bring a proper No.6, it will be him because of his calmness and he's very good with the ball," Viana said. "It's a very high ceiling for him. We all believe that he can be a really important player for Manchester City."
Viana also spoke about the signing of Enzo Fernández, who arrived on deadline day aged 25 and brings World Cup-winning experience with Argentina from 2022. The Director of Football framed the acquisition as a response to significant midfield losses.
"We cannot forget that we lost very important players in the midfield position like Rodri and Bernardo," Viana said. "It's important to bring the quality but also the character and the mentality that Enzo has."
Viana noted that Fernández, who has been with the squad for three weeks, has already integrated seamlessly. "He's that kind of player and mentality that we were looking for in that position because Rodri and Bernardo were really important in the last decade of the club."
Viana expressed confidence that the new arrivals can fill the void left by those departures. "We all believe that Enzo, Bouaddi and Anderson can be as important as Rodri and Bernardo in the past," he said.
