Arsenal battle Liverpool and Chelsea in race for £60m-rated World Cup wonderkid

Arsenal are in talks to sign Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.

The 18-year-old Lille player was a standout performer for Morocco in their 1-1 World Cup draw with Brazil on Saturday.

Shutterstock Editorial

Liverpool have also held talks, while Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have been tracking the Morocco international.

Bouaddi only extended his Lille contract before the World Cup and is contracted until 2029.

Any deal would likely cost at least £60million, yet that number could rise if Bouaddi continues to shine at the World Cup.

Lille are in no rush to sell but the contract extension was not only about improving terms, the French club wanted to protect Bouaddi’s value ahead of the World Cup.

The clash with Brazil was just Bouaddi’s fourth cap for Morocco after making his debut against Burundi last month.

He had previously represented his birth country France up to under-21 level.

Meanwhile, Bouaddi made 42 appearances across all competitions for Lille last season.

His current side reached the last 16 of the Europa League as well as finishing third in Ligue 1 to qualify for the next term’s Champions League.

Morocco will be hoping Bouaddi can continue his fine form throughout the rest of the tournament.

The 2022 semi-finalists continue their campaign against Scotland on Friday before their final group stage fixture against Haiti on June 24.

Shutterstock Editorial

Their run to the semi-finals four years ago was Morocco’s best World Cup performance and the first time they had advanced to the knockout stage since 1986.

Rooney comparison

Arsenal and Chelsea both previously showed interest in Bouaddi back in January.

The teenager has even been compared to Wayne Rooney since bursting onto the scene with Lille.

European football journalist Andy Brassell spoke exclusively to talkSPORT.com about Bouaddi’s talent, explaining: “He’s fantastic.

“He’s not the same player as Wayne Rooney, obviously, but I think you get a little bit of that Wayne Rooney or Jude Bellingham feel for him.

“In terms of how he’s physically built, it says on his birth certificate that he’s a boy, but he looks like a man immediately.

Shutterstock Editorial

“He’s someone who can really handle himself, someone who doesn’t give the ball away much, someone who can cover that space box-to-box, and he’s tactically disciplined.”