Bilal El-Khannouss (Arabic: بلال الخنوس; born 10 May 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Leicester City. Born in Belgium, he plays for the Morocco national team.

Club career

Genk

A youth exponent from Anderlecht, El-Khannouss moved to Genk in 2019.[2] On 24 July 2020, he signed his first professional contract.[3] He made his league debut on 21 May 2022 against Mechelen.[4]

On 1 November 2023, Bilal El-Khannouss was nominated for the 2023 African Young Player of the Year by CAF.[5]

Leicester City

El-Khannouss signed for Premier League club Leicester City on 29 August 2024 on a four-year deal for a reported £21m fee.[6][7] He was assigned the number 11 shirt.[6] El-Khannouss made his Leicester debut on 31 August 2024 in a 2–1 loss against Aston Villa.[8] His first start came in a 1–1 draw against Everton on 21 September 2024.[9] He scored his first goal for the Foxes on 3 December 2024 in a 3–1 home league victory against West Ham.[10]

International career

Born in Belgium, Bilal El-Khannouss is of Moroccan descent.[11] A former youth international for Belgium, El-Khannous switched to represent the Morocco U20s.[12]

On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[13][14] On 17 December, he made his international debut in the World Cup third-place playoff against Croatia, which ended in a 2–1 defeat.[15]

In June 2023, he was included in the final squad of the under-23 national team for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by Morocco itself,[16][17] where the Atlas Lions won their first title[18][19] and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[18][20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 7 February 2025[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Genk 2021–22 Belgian Pro League 1 0 — — — 1 0
2022–23 Belgian Pro League 39 1 2 0 — — 41 1
2023–24 Belgian Pro League 37 3 2 0 — 12[a] 0 51 3
2024–25 Belgian Pro League 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
Total 78 4 4 0 0 0 12 0 94 4
Leicester City 2024–25 Premier League 19 2 2 0 2 1 — 23 3
Career total 97 6 6 0 2 1 12 0 117 7
  1. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 18 November 2024[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Morocco 2022 1 0
2023 6 0
2024 11 0
Total 18 0

Honours

Morocco U23

Individual

Orders

References

  1. ^ "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  2. ^ "El Khannous verlaat Anderlecht". www.anderlecht-online.be.
  3. ^ Projects, Sanmax. "Jeugdinternational Bilal El Khannouss (16) tekent eerste contract | KRC Genk". www.krcgenk.be.
  4. ^ "ONZE PUNTEN. Niet de avond van Paul Onuachu, knap debuut van Bilal El Khannous". www.hbvl.be.
  5. ^ "CAF announces CAF Awards 2023 Nominees for Men's Categories". CAF. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Bilal El Khannouss Signs Four-Year Deal". www.lcfc.com. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Bilal El Khannouss: Leicester sign Morocco midfielder from Genk for £21m". BBC Sport. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Cooper Disappointed With Villa Outcome". www.lcfc.com. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  9. ^ Jordan Blackwell (22 September 2024). "First Bilal El Khannouss start didn't go as Steve Cooper planned – but it wasn't his fault". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  10. ^ Lansley, Peter (3 December 2024). "Vardy starts Van Nistelrooy welcoming party as Leicester add to West Ham woe". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Un joueur de Genk préfère le Maroc à la Belgique". www.footnews.be.
  12. ^ l'Atlas, Lions De (22 June 2021). "Coupe arabe U20 : Les Lionceaux se préparent au festin face aux Requins du Djibouti".
  13. ^ "Morocco World Cup 2022 squad: Who's in and who's out? | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Moroccan coach unveils list of 26 Atlas Lions in 2022 World Cup". HESPRESS English – Morocco News. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  15. ^ Bart De Vré (17 December 2022). "Bilal El Khannouss, Racing Genk, maakte een prima debuut voor Marokko: "Zeker geslaagd"". voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch).
  16. ^ "Sei bianconeri con le nazionali". FC Lugano (in Italian). 9 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  17. ^ "تشكيلة المنتخب الوطني لاقل من 23 سنة امام غينيا". Royal Moroccan Football Federation (in Arabic). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  18. ^ a b c "Morocco win maiden TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with victory over Egypt | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Le Maroc remporte la CAN U23 au bout de la prolongation". SO FOOT.com (in French). 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Le Mali, le Maroc et l'Égypte qualifiés pour les JO 2024". SO FOOT.com (in French). 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Bilal El Khannouss". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  22. ^ "El Khannouss, Bilal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  23. ^ "Egypt U23 vs Morocco U23: Olympics". BBC Sport. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Gala du Soulier d'Or : Bilal El Khannouss élu Espoir de l'année avec un point d'avance sur Charles De Ketelaere". DHnet (in French). 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Bekijk hier de uitslagen van het 71e Gala van de Gouden Schoen". Sporza (in Dutch). 4 February 2025.
  26. ^ Erraji, Abdellah (5 December 2023). "Morocco's Bilal El Khannouss Wins Belgian Lion Award 2023". Morocco World News. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  27. ^ "El Khannouss verkozen tot beste debutant in Jupiler Pro League". www.krcgenk.be (in Dutch). 27 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Bilal El Khannouss wint Gouden Schoen van het OSV" (in Dutch). K.R.C. Genk. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  29. ^ "KRC Genk plukt drie prijzen weg op Pro League Awards" (in Dutch). K.R.C. Genk. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  30. ^ "King receives members of national soccer team, decorates them with Royal wissams". HESPRESS. 20 December 2022. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilal_El_Khannouss
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