Who is Ayyoub Bouaddi? World Cup prodigy profiled as Liverpool make 'direct contact'

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The somewhat controversial African champions, who were awarded this year's AFCON title in a boardroom rather than on the pitch, seized the initiative and capitalised on Brazil's disjointed display with a 21st-minute goal chipped over Liverpool keeper Alisson by Ismael Saibari.Bouaddi was at the heart of it all, monstering his duels against grown men and dictating his team's high tempo from a deep role. Emerging from more stable surroundings than many other young players in France, it perhaps speaks to Bouaddi's character that he then chose to commit to the country of his family's origin rather than the country he represented at five youth levels.Indeed, Bouaddi only declared for Morocco last month, the day after France announced their World Cup squad - which he was absent from.The cynical read would be that the Moroccan national team's rise in recent years - this being the third successive World Cup the Atlas Lions have qualified for - and the opportunity to start in midfield offered Bouaddi an opportunity he couldn't turn down, at least after receiving confirmation that he would not feature for his country of birth.A more forgiving interpretation, and the aspect that deserves credit, is that Bouaddi has chosen to represent his ancestral home despite the wealth of opportunities and the quality of training facilities in his country of birth, arguably turning down a greater opportunity to actually win competitions like the World Cup in future.Morocco should certainly not be ruled out as potential winners, and are ranked only one place behind Brazil in seventh, but France have probably the best squad in the tournament - and with N'Golo Kante surely playing his final World Cup, Bouaddi would have likely been in the frame to start in defensive midfield for the current champions by the time the next edition rolls around.Instead, in picking his family's country of origin, Bouaddi has made a brave decision that many members of Les Bleus' squad did not, and it will be to Morocco's benefit.Bouaddi will have been playing first-team football for three years by the time October comes, having made his debut for Lille just days after his 16th birthday in 2023.He made 18 appearances in that first season, and featured six times in the UEFA Conference League (managing one assist, the first goal contribution of his career) during Lille's run to the quarter-final.The following season (2024/25), he started 11 times in Ligue 1 and increased his minutes nearly tenfold to 1,148.Already, Bouaddi was establishing himself as a controlling midfielder.

Across that league campaign, Bouaddi was in the top 10% of Ligue 1 midfielders for tackles per 90 and showed off an impressive passing range, completing 88.1% of his passes - with an impressive 76.0% of his long balls finding their target.He also began to show more confidence on the ball, completing exactly half of his 28 attempted dribbles at a rate of 1.10 per game. The French side beat both Madrid teams and thrashed Feyenoord 6-1 away in the final game, only losing to Sporting CP in the first game and Liverpool, who topped the league phase that year, in the penultimate game.They were dispatched 3-2 on aggregate by Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16, but Bouaddi could hold his head high having played a large role in their surprising run, maintaining high pass completion numbers and grabbing an assist in the rout of Feyenoord.In the most recent season (2025/26), Bouaddi was much more involved again for Lille.

Starting 28 times and more than doubling his minutes in Ligue 1, the Moroccan's chance creation exponentially increased from 0.39 per 90 the previous season to 0.81; his dribbling, too, became more frequent (1.31 successful dribbles per 90) and more effective (60.7% dribbles successful).Few players achieve a dribble success rate higher than 50%, but Bouaddi (from a defensive midfield role) completed 34 dribbles over the course of the season, putting him in the top 2% of Ligue 1 midfielders for successful dribbles at the age of just 18.Bouaddi's tendency to come away with the ball in most 50/50 situations, which he showed against Brazil, has been one of his strongest traits over the last year.Winning 56.6% of his overall duels, and 64.1% of his aerials, Bouaddi is in the top 20% of Ligue 1 midfielders in both of these attributes, and the same can be said for his 5.84 ball recoveries per 90.His profile overall is similar to that of Elliot Anderson, in that he is a defence-first midfielder but not really an out-and-out No. Bouaddi also possesses a grace on the ball that belies his age, and standing at 6'1" has the frame to adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League.All in all, Bouaddi has made 100 senior appearances - 96 for Lille and four for Morocco - and at 18 is considerably more established than the 19-year-old Yan Diomande or the 20-year-old Jeremy Jacquet, neither of whom can yet boast 60 combined club and international appearances.This gives Liverpool a substantially larger amount of data to peruse when assessing his situation, and if Romano's report is accurate the Reds appear to like what they see.The eye test is perhaps the greatest indicator overall of what Bouaddi could bring, and his future in the game looks extremely promising.Liverpool supporters will surely be keeping a close watch over his performances for the remainder of the tournament, though any movement on a potential transfer will likely have to wait until Morocco's World Cup journey comes to an end.On the evidence of Saturday, we could be waiting a while.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!