Genk: Bilal El Khannouss, a highly sought-after talent
Like many of the Atlas Lions, Bilal El Khannouss (18) has attracted interest from several European clubs since the 2022 World Cup
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The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was a fine shop window for the Atlas Lions, who reached the semi-finals of the tournament, a first in the history of African football. Among the Moroccan players who caught the world's eye, Bilal El Khannouss is one of those worth listing.
Aged just 18, the midfielder started the third-place play-off against Croatia (2-1) and put in a fine display against Croatia's midfield heavyweights, Modric and Kovatic (Brozović was absent). It was enough to catch the eye of plenty of European clubs.
Indeed, according to the Dutch-language Belgian outlet HVBL, the Genk (Belgium) youngster is on the radar of Ajax Amsterdam, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and even Paris Saint-Germain, the club of his compatriot Achraf Hakimi.
The same source suggests that several intermediaries and agents were in Belgium on Sunday 8 January to run the rule over the young Moroccan prodigy in Genk's 3-1 win over Club Bruges. "90% of them want to see Bilal El Khannouss in action in a high-level match", Jan-Pieter Martens, a scout for Schalke 04, told the Belgian outlet.
Bilal El Khannouss therefore knows what he has to do to move to a bigger club and so take a step up in his young career.