Bilal El Khannouss

Bilal El Khannouss
El Khannouss with Morocco in 2023
Personal information
Full name Bilal El Khannouss[1]
Date of birth (2004-05-10) 10 May 2004
Place of birth Strombeek-Bever, Belgium
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Leicester City
Number 11
Youth career
2009–2019 Anderlecht
2019–2022 Genk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 Genk 78 (4)
2024– Leicester City 33 (2)
International career‡
2019 Belgium U15 3 (1)
2019–2020 Belgium U16 7 (2)
2021 Belgium U18 3 (1)
2022 Morocco U20 4 (0)
2022– Morocco U23 12 (1)
2022– Morocco 21 (1)
Medal record
Representing  Morocco
U-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 2023
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:21, 10 August 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 June 2025

Bilal El Khannouss (Arabic: بلال الخنوس; born 10 May 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL Championship 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, 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 United.[10]

International career

Born in Belgium, 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]

Playing style

El Khannouss possesses exceptional control of the ball and great vision, qualities that allow him to excel in one-on-one situations and execute precise, defense-splitting passes. His playing style is characterized by his close ball control, agility, and the ability to navigate tight spaces. His former coach at Genk, Michel Ribeiro, lauded him for having "eyes in his back," a testament to his ability to anticipate the movement of his teammates and opponents.[21][22]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 August 2025[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] 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[c] 0 51 3
2024–25 Belgian Pro League 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
Total 78 4 4 0 — 12 0 94 4
Leicester City 2024–25 Premier League 32 2 2 0 2 1 — 36 3
2025–26 Championship 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 2 0
Total 33 2 2 0 3 1 — 38 3
Career total 111 6 6 0 3 1 12 0 132 7
  1. ^ Includes Belgian Cup, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 9 June 2025[24]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Morocco 2022 1 0
2023 6 0
2024 10 0
2025 4 1
Total 21 1
Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each El Khannouss goal.
List of international goals scored by Bilal El Khannouss
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 March 2025 Honor Stadium, Oujda, Morocco  Niger 2–1 2–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

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". anderlecht-online.be.
  3. ^ Projects, Sanmax. "Jeugdinternational Bilal El Khannouss (16) tekent eerste contract | KRC Genk". krcgenk.be.
  4. ^ "ONZE PUNTEN. Niet de avond van Paul Onuachu, knap debuut van Bilal El Khannous". hbvl.be. 21 May 2022.
  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". 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". 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". 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". Goal (website). 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. ^ V, Sanjay Kumar (30 July 2025). "Tottenham identify Morgan Gibbs-White alternative who has "unbelievable feet and great vision"". Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  22. ^ V, Sanjay. "Bilal El Khannouss: Leicester midfielder with 'eyes in his back' and 'unbelievable feet' showing star quality in adversity". Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Bilal El Khannouss". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  24. ^ "El Khannouss, Bilal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  25. ^ "Egypt U23 vs Morocco U23: Olympics". BBC Sport. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ "Bekijk hier de uitslagen van het 71e Gala van de Gouden Schoen". Sporza (in Dutch). 4 February 2025.
  28. ^ Erraji, Abdellah (5 December 2023). "Morocco's Bilal El Khannouss Wins Belgian Lion Award 2023". Morocco World News. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  29. ^ "El Khannouss verkozen tot beste debutant in Jupiler Pro League". krcgenk.be (in Dutch). 27 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Bilal El Khannouss wint Gouden Schoen van het OSV" (in Dutch). K.R.C. Genk. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  31. ^ "KRC Genk plukt drie prijzen weg op Pro League Awards" (in Dutch). K.R.C. Genk. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  32. ^ "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.
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