Smartest World Cup transfers: Eight 2026 stars who would be a steal in the market, from Ayoub Bouaddi to Rodri

The 2026 World Cup has been a showcase of extraordinary footballing talent.

Whether it’s the continued greatness of Lionel Messi or the rise to prominence of 17-year-old Gilberto Mora, the tournament in North America has been a stage for some sparkling performances.

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Some of those who have seized their moment in the limelight could find themselves exploring pastures new once the World Cup comes to an end. Plenty of the competition’s best players have been heavily linked with moves in the transfer market, some of them for significant sums of money.

The Sporting News, in association with eToro, has rounded up some of the smartest potential deals for the World Cup’s finest performers — and one that has already been agreed…

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World Cup 2026 stars: Eight smartest transfers for this summer

Ayoub Bouaddi

• Current club: Lille
• Target for: Manchester City
• Estimated transfer fee: £85-90 million

A player of any age who can emerge from World Cup games against Brazil and the Netherlands as the standout midfielder is worthy of attention. Anyone who does so for Morocco at 18 years old is remarkable.

Ayoub Bouaddi is an imposing, ball-playing, powerful player who excels both in possession and without it. It’s hardly surprising that he’s been earmarked as a potential Rodri successor at Manchester City.

No deal has yet been agreed, and there are suggestions City will have to go close to £90 million or more if they are to convince Lille to part with a prized asset at such a young age. The Premier League club may be reluctant to do so given the £116m outlay on Elliot Anderson. Nonetheless, it looks like Bouaddi will get a big move sooner rather than later, and the lucky buyers could end up with one of the standout central midfielders of the next decade or more.

Yan Diomande

• Current club: RB Leipzig
• Target for: Liverpool, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain
• Estimated transfer fee: £85 million

Yan Diomande was player of the match on his World Cup debut against Ecuador as he set a new record for the youngest man to play at the tournament for the Ivory Coast (19 years and 212 days old).

The African side’s adventure was ended in the Round of 32 by Erling Haaland’s ruthlessness, but not before Diomande had shown the world what he is all about. He managed 7.4 dribbles per 90 at a 75% success rate across the three group games, and his 2.18 chance-creating carries per 90 minutes is the best such figure at the 2026 finals.

A dazzling winger at such a young age is always likely to earn admirers. Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain have long been linked with the player, while Manchester United have more recently been credited with real interest. The indication is no club is prepared to bid more than £85 million, despite RB Leipzig’s determination to ward off suitors, but anyone who can strike a deal below that mark will be delighted.

Johan Manzambi

• Current club: Freiburg
• Target for: Aston Villa
• Estimated transfer fee: Over £50 million

Switzerland had one of the more familiar line-ups at this World Cup — it feels like Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez and Breel Embolo are somehow always at major tournaments — but Johan Manzambi was a real breakout star.

The 20-year-old came off the bench against Bosnia and Herzegovina to score two goals in a 4-1 win, and he followed that up with a further goal and an assist against Canada as Murat Yakin’s side secured top spot in Group B.

He then suffered a knee injury that cruelly brought his tournament to a premature end. Had he been available, Switzerland’s unfortunate quarter-final exit to Argentina could perhaps have gone differently.

It looked like Newcastle United would be bringing Manzambi to England, but Aston Villa stole a march and convinced the player to accept their proposal. The Athletic report the fee will surpass the club-record £50 million they paid for Amadou Onana two years ago, but it still looks like a modest sum for a youngster with Manzambi’s ceiling.

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Ibrahim Mbaye

• Current club: Paris Saint-Germain
• Target for: Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa
• Estimated transfer fee: £42.6 million

Ibrahim Mbaye announced himself on the sport’s biggest stage by scoring a superb goal in Senegal’s opening defeat to France, becoming the youngest player from an African nation to score at a World Cup at 18 years and 142 days old.

Senegal’s tournament overall may have ended in disarray with that shock collapse against Belgium amid reports of big problems behind the scenes, but Mbaye’s reputation has been burnished by his time in North America. As a second-half substitute in a 3-2 loss to Norway, he completed all 18 of his passes — impressive for an attacking player often under pressure — while his first two appearances saw him record a notable 6.3 dribbles per 90 minutes and win two thirds of his duels.

Reports suggest Mbaye has grown tired of waiting for his chance to break into PSG’s regular first-team picture and wants to secure a move this summer. The European champions are asking for around £42.6 million, which, even though his contract runs out in a year’s time, is a low figure for a player of Mbaye’s talent who does not even turn 18 until next January.

Michael Olise

• Current club: Bayern Munich
• Target for: Real Madrid
• Estimated transfer fee: £170 million

Until he was stifled by Spain, Michael Olise at this World Cup looked every bit the sparkling attacking midfielder he was at Bayern Munich last season.

The ex-Crystal Palace man managed 15 goals and 19 assists in the 2025/26 Bundesliga as Bayern cruised to the title, and his performances in the Champions League off the right-hand side of Vincent Kompany’s attack — especially against Real Madrid — were unforgettable.

Didier Deschamps has deployed the 24-year-old more as a No. 10 in North America, and he was a devastating attacking link between the midfield and France’s star-studded forward line until Les Bleus were blunted in the semifinals. It’s that versatility and creativity that have supposedly made him Real Madrid’s top target.

There are conflicting reports about whether or not Olise wants to join Jose Mourinho’s team, and it is accepted that Madrid will have to pay somewhere in the region of £170 million or more to land him. Spending so big naturally comes with risk, but Olise’s age, profile and spectacular ability would make this one worth taking.

Rodri

• Current club: Manchester City
• Target for: Real Madrid 
• Estimated transfer fee: £59.6 million

Pep Guardiola suggested we would see the very best of Rodri again at the World Cup, and boy, has he been proven right.

Spain’s midfield metronome has orchestrated an unbeaten run to the final during which they have only conceded a single goal from an expected goals against figure of just 2.15, a tournament low. Rodri has been the beating heart of Luis de la Fuente’s imperious machine, completing the most open-play passes (655) and passes into the final third (173) of anyone in the competition while only Paraguay’s combative Andres Cubas has won more tackles than Rodri’s 22.

Ordinarily, a player who has just turned 30, has less than a year on his current contract and who suffered a hugely debilitating knee injury two years ago would not be high on Real Madrid’s list of targets, but club president Florentino Perez is reportedly determined to bring him back to the Spanish capital. On the evidence of this World Cup, the estimated fee of €70 million (£59.6m) would be a steal.

Youri Tielemans

• Current club: Manchester United
• Target for: Manchester United (transfer complete)
• Transfer fee: £35 million

This one is a deal that has already been completed — and it looks like being a good one.

Tielemans, fresh off a brilliant season in which he helped Aston Villa to win the Europa League, orchestrated Belgium’s surprise run to the quarterfinals, where they became the only team to score against Spain across La Roja’s first seven World Cup matches.

At the age of 29, the midfielder is older than the majority of United’s intended targets. Yet the problem they have in the spine of the team has been apparent for some time, and Tielemans, at just £35 million, is a bargain solution.

Tielemans is an excellent all-round midfielder, capable both of adding off-the-ball tenacity but also critical line-breaking passes when United go on the attack (over 16% of his attempted passes last season were of this kind, a figure only bettered by Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton in last season’s Premier League). Paying £35m for someone who is effectively Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes rolled into one represents seriously smart business.

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