Update (Tuesday 25 August) — the deal is done. Ayyoub Bouaddi has completed his medical at Manchester City and both clubs have signed all the documents (Fabrizio Romano). The fee: €95m plus €5m in add-ons — exactly the €100m package described below. The contract runs to 2031 with the option of a further season. The club’s official announcement is now a formality.
The full picture of City’s midfield rebuild. This signing is the third piece of the puzzle, and the other two are already visible in the FPL database: Rodri is listed as having joined Barcelona (we covered that last week), and Tijjani Reijnders as sold to Al-Qadsiah. City have parted with two midfielders and brought in an 18-year-old for €100m.
What changes before Friday’s deadline. Bouaddi is still not in the game’s database, so you cannot buy him — he will enter FPL once registered, at a price set by the game. The practical question concerns Elliot Anderson: 7.5% owned, substituted on 62 minutes in the opening gameweek, and carrying a knock with a 75% chance of playing since the weekend. If you own him, his minutes — rather than the Bouaddi transfer itself — are the thing to check on Friday.
The Sunday of the opening gameweek brought two transfer stories that affect FPL managers directly. Manchester City closed the most expensive teenage signing in Premier League history, and Aston Villa left Ollie Watkins out of the squad altogether — then lost 4-0.
Bouaddi joins Manchester City in a €100m package
Manchester City and Lille have reached full agreement over Ayyoub Bouaddi. The deal is worth €100m as a package — around £81.3m fixed plus £4.3m in add-ons, according to Sky Sports. The 18-year-old Moroccan agreed personal terms with City back in July, and Lille have now given the green light to the sale.
It is the most expensive teenage transfer in Premier League history. The previous record belonged to Leny Yoro, for whom Manchester United committed £58.9m to Lille in 2024. Bouaddi has 96 first-team appearances for Lille behind him and played a part in Morocco’s run to the quarter-finals of this year’s World Cup.
We covered this move a month ago, when City had terms agreed with the player and the fee from Lille was the only obstacle left. Back then the range ran from £84m to £102m, with reports of a possible loan-back to Lille for this season. It has landed at the top of that range — and without the loan.
What it means for your squad
Bouaddi is not in the game’s database yet, so you cannot buy him today. He will enter FPL once registered, at a price set by the game. The more useful question is whose minutes he takes.
City’s midfield in the opening gameweek looked like this: Semenyo a full 90 minutes, Foden 81, Anderson 62, Cherki 27. Anderson — the club’s record summer signing and a player our engine rates 89 at £6.5m — was already coming off early. Adding a €100m midfielder to that squad does not improve his outlook for full games. If you own Anderson, watch the next few weeks rather than reacting immediately.
Watkins left out as Villa are beaten in Brighton
The second story touches far more squads. Ollie Watkins was omitted from Aston Villa’s matchday squad for Sunday’s trip to Brighton, with advanced talks under way with Al Hilal. The Saudi club have now made a fourth offer, worth around £45m, and the striker is reported to have agreed personal terms. Unai Emery had said previously that he did not want to sell.
Villa lost the game 4-0.
For FPL this is a familiar pattern from this week. Watkins costs £8.0m and is owned by 10.4% of managers — roughly one in ten. In the game’s database there is no flag on him at all: status available, no note. He recorded zero minutes in the opening gameweek and did not play a single minute of pre-season.
It is exactly the mechanism we described with Ezri Konsa: the game does not warn you about a transfer until it is completed. If Watkins is in your squad, there are two things to watch this week — whether the move gets done, and who inherits his minutes in the Villa attack.
The window closes in a week
The summer transfer window shuts on 1 September at 23:00 UK time. It is usually the loudest week of the summer, and this year it comes with pressure from the Saudi market, which closes later and can pull a player away after the season has already started.
Current ratings for every player are in our AI rankings, and our suggested line-up for the coming gameweek is in the Recommended Squad.
Sources: Sky Sports, ESPN, FootballTransfers, Fabrizio Romano. Bouaddi status: club-to-club agreement, ahead of official confirmation. Watkins: talks ongoing, transfer unconfirmed. This article was produced with the help of artificial intelligence. Fantasy PL Edge is not affiliated with the Premier League or the Fantasy Premier League game.