Leicester City will be hoping their victory over Tottenham on Sunday can be the catalyst for Premier League survival.
Ahead of their clash against Spurs, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men were on a seven-match losing streak and handed little chance of securing three points.
To the surprise of many, though, Leicester beat Tottenham 2-1 away from home thanks to goals from Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss.
A crucial three points saw the Foxes climb out of the relegation zone while Van Nistelrooy praised Vardy for his leadership post-match.
Leicester’s elder statesman was pivotal in helping his side clinch three points, as was El Khannouss, who has been a revelation since signing from Genk in the summer.
Bilal El Khannouss had to be dragged off the training ground at Genk for working too hard
El Khannouss’s wonderful strike on Sunday was only his second league goal of the season, despite amassing 18 appearances in the top flight.
The Moroccan playmaker has more to his game than just goals, though, including a relentless work ethic, intelligent movement and an ability to glide past defenders.
It’s such attributes that have seen the 20-year-old emerge as a fan favourite at the King Power Stadium already, as seen in the defeat against Fulham.
Leicester fans were annoyed when El Khannouss was substituted, directing their anger towards Van Nistelrooy, who felt he made the correct decision.
Funnily enough, it isn’t just at the Foxes where he’s become a fan favourite, as his former first-team coach Michael Ribeiro explained that El Khannouss once had to be dragged off the training pitch for working too hard at Genk.
“Fans loved him because he worked his *** off every single game. Also, in training sessions, he was top,” Ribeiro told Leicestershire Live.
“For example, if we had a tough week with games and he was tired, sometimes the head coach would tell him not to go out and do extra, but he was so stubborn that he asked me to do extra with him even though he was tired. Sometimes I had to shove him off the training pitch! That’s typical Bilal.
“He’s not the type of guy who, now he’s at Leicester City, to go, ‘OK, I made it to the Premier League and it’s good for me’. No. He’s the sort of guy who will always want to improve and one day, hopefully, go to a bigger club than Leicester. He has a long way to go but the potential is there.”
El Khannouss could leave Leicester City
There are a lot of factors that could unfold if Leicester are relegated from the Premier League this term, and one of those is the departure of El Khannouss.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 23 |
| 17 |  LeicesterLeicester | 23 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 25 | 49 | -24 | 17 |
| 18 |  WolvesWolves | 23 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 32 | 52 | -20 | 16 |
Currently outside of the bottom three by a point, there is a high chance that Van Nistelrooy’s men suffer an immediate return to the Championship.
A talented player like El Khannouss is unlikely to stick around if they fall through the trap door and the same goes for Mads Hermansen, who is wanted by Man United.
Still only 20, El Khannouss could have the big clubs sniffing for his signature sooner rather than later, and PSR could force the Foxes into cashing in.