Sources: Arsenal blown away by 'Gundogan-esque' Champions League gem on radar of Europe's biggest clubs
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TBR Football can reveal that Arsenal scouts have been blown away by a “Gundogan-esque” young midfielder who is on the radar of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Arsenal aren’t the only ones keen on the 17-year-old, however, with the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona also monitoring his progress.
Said player has already made 36 competitive appearances for his club and has even been playing regularly in the Champions League.
Arsenal wowed by Lille prodigy Ayyoub Bouaddi
TBR Football correspondent Graeme Bailey can reveal that Arsenal have become ‘enamoured’ with French midfield starlet Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The 17-year-old central midfielder is the latest prospect to come through Lille’s ranks and he has made a huge impact with the Ligue 1 outfit.
In 2023, at the age of 16 years and 3 days, he became the youngest player ever to play in a European club competition game.
However, it is this season that has seen Bouaddi take advantage of injuries and suspensions and has since become a regular in the side, despite the wealth of talent including England star Angel Gomes.
Bouaddi’s progress has been rapid in the last 12 months and he is now a French Under-21 international having been rewarded for his form.
TBR Football can reveal that Arsenal have been alerted to his form and we are told that their scouts have been ‘enamoured’ with Bouaddi’s talent.
Arsenal are not alone in their admiration with Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus all trailing his progress.
Lille, who are set to lose Jonathan David and Angel Gomes, are looking to tie down Bouaddi to a new long-term deal.
Bouaddi does not turn 18 until October, so he could not join a Premier League club this summer.
In theory, however, he would be able to move within the European Union, so he could move to Spain, Germany or Italy.
Ayyoub Bouaddi style of play
Despite being just 17, Bouaddi has made such a big impact in the game already that numerous scouting reports and feature articles have been written about him.
For instance, Goal.com wrote in November: “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 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.”
They also compared Bouaddi to France international Adrien Rabiot.
“A tall, elegant French teenager with long hair that’s adept at recycling possession, Bouaddi has almost inevitably been compared to Adrien Rabiot,” they began.
“(Rabiot) 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.”
Meanwhile, Football Talent Scout’s Jacek Kulig has compared Bouaddi to Curtis Jones and Ilkay Gundogan.
“Just looking at his character and the fact he can play both roles it seems intuitive to say he can be an all-phase number 8, Gundogan-esque,” wrote Kulig.
“Tempo setter, box crasher, creator, ball carrier, ball winner. He could feasibly do it all.
“I hope he gets a coach that allows him to use the full range of his expansive profile as a footballer as he is a rare kind.”
