Paris Saint-Germain deliberately chose not to pursue a deal for midfielder Ayoub Bouaddi during the last summer transfer window. The Parisian club, currently fifth in Ligue 1 with 11 points, deemed their midfield options sufficient, allowing the 19-year-old Moroccan to join Manchester City for a record sum.
The decision was made last spring by the duo of Luis Campos and Luis Enrique, who mapped out the positions needing reinforcement. "The board were convinced they already had enough options in midfield and saw no need to strengthen there in the summer of 2026," a French newspaper reported. The area, where the manager can call upon Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, Warren Zaire-Emery, Senny Mayulu and Désiré Doue, was not viewed as a priority.
The youth of Zaire-Emery and Mayulu, in particular, removed any sense of urgency. Officials instead intended to focus on developing that duo's potential in the medium term. The versatility of Magnes Akliouche, Lucas Beraldo's conversion to a holding role, and the promotion of Quentin Ndjantou provided further depth. The club did, however, leave the door open for a move for Bouaddi a year later, intending to monitor his development at Lille.
Bouaddi was coming off an outstanding season with Lille and had impressed with Morocco at the 2026 World Cup. His long-term project, however, leaned clearly towards Manchester, where manager Enzo Maresca had made him a priority target. Paris Saint-Germain, for their part, signed five players this summer, Alessandro Longoni, Lucas Deny, Magnes Akliouche, Mika Godts and Ferran Torres, but no out-and-out midfielder. Torres is currently the club's top scorer with 4 goals in 6 appearances.
The clash against Manchester City this Wednesday (21:00) will provide a first direct point of comparison. Paris Saint-Germain approach the match following a 3-1 win over Le Mans, where versatile recruit Maghnes Akliouche found the net. This win is part of a positive recent run of form, with the team having scored 8 goals across their last three league matches. The next challenge after City will be a trip to Lens next Sunday.
Background and full detail: livescore.com
