Arsenal and Chelsea learn huge club have joined €70m race for Ayyoub Bouaddi

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Matthew Judge | Editor

Arsenal and Chelsea have suffered a blow to their respective hopes of signing Ayyoub Bouaddi after learning Real Madrid have joined the race for the €70million-rated (£60.6m) midfielder, according to reports in Spain.

Bouaddi has established himself as one of the best young players in the world following his emergence through Lille’s youth system in 2023, having already made 63 Ligue 1 appearances at the tender age of 18.

The teen sensation has also caught the eye with his performances at this summer’s World Cup, delivering a metronomic midfield performance in Morocco’s 1-1 draw with Brazil on 13 June.

Such has been Bouaddi’s impressive form in the middle of the park that Arsenal have reportedly opened talks with his club side Lille over a potential deal, according to The Times.

A separate report from talkSPORT claims Chelsea are also interested in signing Bouaddi this summer, with Morocco’s No. 6 reportedly holding a valuation between €60m to €70m (£52m to £60.6m).

However, according to Spanish publication Diario AS, La Liga giants Real are also monitoring developments surrounding Bouaddi, who helped Morocco beat Scotland 1-0 in their Group C clash on Friday.

The same publication claims Real are keen to back new manager Jose Mourinho with a statement signing following the conclusion of the World Cup.

Real have previous form in this regard, having signed James Rodriguez and Keylor Navas on the back of their impressive efforts for Colombia and Costa Rica respectively at the 2014 World Cup, while Los Blancos also landed Mesut Ozil after he shone for Germany at the 2010 tournament.

Spanish heavyweights Real have already been busy in the summer transfer market, with Marc Cucurella arriving from Chelsea in a €60m (£52m) deal while Bernardo Silva and Ibrahima Konate are set to join on free transfers following the expiration of their contracts with Manchester City and Liverpool respectively.

Lille insist Bouaddi will only leave for 'extraordinary' fee

Before the World Cup started, Lille president Olivier Letang said the club will only allow Bouaddi to leave if they receive a massive offer for his services, saying €50million (£43.2m) is “not enough”.

In quotes carried by French publication RMC Sport, Letang said: “We'll talk about it (transfer speculation) with Ayyoub. To be very sincere, it had also been the subject of our discussions. We have very, very, very regular exchanges with Ayyoub. The idea for us is to keep him.”

And when asked whether €50m would be enough to land Bouaddi, Letang added: “No, that's not enough. When I say extraordinary it's something extraordinary. Here we are far from the amount that would allow us to let Ayyoub go.

“Bouaddi has extended his contract until 2029, so he has three years left. He is 18 years old and [somewhere] he is sure to be a starter in a team that plays [in] the Champions League.”