The youngster, who was born north of Paris in Senlis, made his Lille debut at the age of 16 years and three days and made a total of 96 appearances for the French club.
Bouaddi, who only made his Morocco debut in May, has made three World Cup appearances so far, helping the team progress to the round of 16, where they will face Canada on Saturday (kick-off 6pm BST).
On his debut against five-time winners Brazil, he caught the eye with his calmness in possession, taking more touches (87) and completing more accurate passes (60) than any other teammate.
“He has the potential to become one of the best midfielders to ever play the game, and not just for Morocco,” says El Amri. “He has such talent, but he has to keep his cool and keep his feet on the ground. You can’t become a star if you don’t work hard enough.”
“At first glance he looks a lot like (former Spain and Barcelona midfielder) Sergio Busquets. He is very tall, but not very muscular. Usually players with muscles occupy the sixth or eighth position.
“He’s best at keeping his cool when he’s in possession and pressing. He doesn’t commit many fouls and that’s what made Busquets a complete midfielder.”
Bouaddi underlined his promise last season by leading numerous stats among under-18 players in Europe’s five biggest leagues.
He has played the most minutes (2,329) and made the most appearances (30) – more than Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal, Werder Bremen centre-back Karim Koulibaly and Wolves’ Mateus Mane.
His energetic and dynamic play saw him top the rankings for his age group, winning possession 151 times, making a total of 59 tackles and 27 interceptions.
Lille have reportedly set an asking price for Bouaddi of between £69 million and £86 million, which appears to be the current asking price for a top-class midfielder, as evidenced by the club’s upcoming record signing of England’s Anderson.
Enzo Mareschi’s side were also interested in signing Sandro Tonali, but the Italy international instead agreed to join Tottenham, while there are doubts over the long-term future of Rodri, who has entered the final year of his City contract.
Bouaddi could be the solution in the future, but the player’s immediate goal will be to help his country go one level better than their achievement four years ago when they reached the last four of the World Cup before losing to France.
El Amri adds: “In Morocco, everyone loves Bouaddi. Not only because he is such a good player, but off the field he is, as we say, the perfect son-in-law.”
“He received a high school diploma in mathematics and physics, which shows the intelligence and IQ of this player.
“He has everything it takes to become not only a fantastic player but also a very good person and people in Morocco identify with that.”