Described as one of the brightest talents in African football, Bilal El Khannouss has proved to be a significant coup for Leicester.
El Khannouss has been one of the signings of the season for Leicester and is already attracting interest from Premier League clubs and other teams around the continent.
Although it may only be his first year of English football, the youngster has taken to it like a duck to water and will no doubt get better with time.
So let’s take a look into El Khannouss and everything you need to know about him.
Bilal El Khannouss personal profile: Place of birth, age, height, current club, nationality
- Full name: Bilal El Khannouss
- Age: 20 (May 10, 2004)
- Height: Five feet 11 inches (1.80m)
- Place of birth: Strombeek-Bever, Belgium
- Nationality: Moroccan
- Current club: Genk
- Position: Attacking midfield
- Shirt number: 10
Bilal El Khannouss stats: Previous clubs and international record
Club career
El Khannouss started his career as a product of the Anderlecht youth academy before making the switch to Genk in 2019.
One year later, the attacking midfielder would sign his first professional contract before making his league debut against Mechelen on 21 May 2022.
Since then the 20-year-old has become one of Genk’s star men and has made almost 100 appearances for the Belgian side.
International career
Despite being born in Belgium El Khannouss is of Moroccan descent and chose to represent them internationally, even though he had been selected at youth level for the former.
He was named in the Morocco 2022 World Cup side that reached the semi-finals but didn’t feature until the third-place play-off defeat to Croatia. That game was his senior international debut.
El Khannouss was also selected in Morocco’s Under-23s Africa Cup of Nations squad, helping them to win the tournament and qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he also featured.
Stats
- Genk: 94 appearances, 4 goals, 14 assists
- Morocco: 14 appearances, zero goals, zero assists
Bilal El Khannouss market value and wage
According to Transfermarkt, El Khannouss is valued at £25.4m and is the most valuable player in the Genk squad.
In terms of wages, Salary Sport claims that the 20-year-old earns £8,500-a-week, equating to £442,000 across the 2024-25 season.
Bilal El Khannouss style of play
As with most modern-day attacking midfielders, El Khannouss thrives most when the ball is at his feet.
Whether it be trying to break the lines or split the defence with a through ball, the Morocco international wants to be at the source of all things creative.
It’s hard to tell if the youngster has a ‘stronger foot’ and is more than capable of using both to strong effect.
His confidence can often be mistaken for arrogance but he has every right to think he is the man of the moment given the extraordinary skill he possesses.
Bilal El Khannouss family: Mum, dad and girlfriend
There is little to no information available about El Khannouss’ family.
As previously mentioned the midfielder was born in Belgium to Moroccan parents and chose his parents’ nationality as his own.
There is nothing online to suggest that El Khannouss is currently in a relationship.
Bilal El Khannouss Instagram and X/Twitter accounts
You can find El Khannouss on Instagram with the handle @bilalelkns_34, where he has over 2m followers.
He doesn’t appear to have any active social media on X.