Leicester City are negotiating a deal to sign Bilal El Khannouss, but KRC Genk, his current Belgian club, are demanding at least £17 million for the skilled forward.
Following a concerningly sluggish beginning to the transfer window, Leicester City now seem to be gaining momentum as the deadline approaches next week.
Steve Cooper’s side secured a £20 million deal for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp. On Friday, they also unveiled another proven Premier League operator with versatile forward Jordan Ayew joining from Crystal Palace for a fee of £8 million.
Leicester are keen to secure further incomings in the coming days, however, with one of the brightest talents in Belgian football now the object of their affections.
HITC have been told that the 2016 top-flight champions are in talks over a deal that could see the highly-rated Bilal El Khannouss move to the King Power Stadium. There is no confirmation that any bid is on the table just yet, however.
Genk are also understood to be demanding a minimum of £17 million.
Leicester City in Bilal El Khannouss talks with KRC Genk
The Belgium-born El Khannouss has already earned 14 caps for Morocco at the age of just 20.
He was part of the Atlas Lions squad which secured the Under 23 African Cup of Nations and also featured in Paris during the Olympic games.
The stylish central midfielder is already one of the first names on the Genk team sheet too. He provided eight assists in a staggering 51 appearances last term. El Khannouss has picked up where he left off at the start of 2024/25, too, setting up three goals in his six outings thus far.
That creativity and his penchant for defence-splitting passes have also drawn comparisons with one of the finest playmakers of his generation, Real Madrid superstar Luka Modric.
“For me, he is the player in the Belgian league who will have the greatest career,” reporter Filip Joos told the 90Minutes podcast on Sporza. “I don’t see anyone else better than him.
“(El Khannouss) reminds me most of Modric. That does not mean that he will reach that level. (The comparisons are) purely in terms of their styles.
“We have to enjoy him now because he will (soon) be gone from Belgium.”
Foxes target likened to Luka Modric
Joos’ prediction could yet come true in the coming days, though Leicester still have a lot of work to do if they are to secure a deal for a player who only made his senior debut two years ago.
El Khannouss was named Genk’s Player of the Year for 2024.
Interestingly, he told Het Belang van Limburg a few months ago that he was keen to avoid the same mistake Kevin de Bruyne made when swapping Belgian football for Chelsea right at the start of his career.
El Khannouss is clearly going to put regular playing time at the top of his list of priorities when choosing his next club. And that could work in Leicester’s favour, especially if they find themselves competing with some of Europe’s stronger sides.
Joos, meanwhile, is not the only one to liken El Khannouss with Croatian icon Modric.
Belgium Under 19 coach can see those similarities as well, though he believes the Leicester target woud benefit from playing a little deeper in a number eight role rather than behind the frontman as more of a number ten.
“I think he can become absolutely world-class there (in a deeper midfield position),” Sonck tells Extra Time. “When I see guys like Luka Modric playing, I also see a bit of El Khannouss.”
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