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.
.jpg) El Khannouss with Morocco in 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bilal El Khannouss[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 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 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 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 | 18 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:12, 10 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
editGenk
editA 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
editEl Khannouss signed for Premier League club Leicester City on 29 August 2024 on a four-year deal for a reported £20m fee plus addons.[6][7] He wears the number 11 shirt,[8] last worn by Marc Albrighton until he left the club in 2024.[9]
International career
editBorn in Belgium, El Khannouss is of Moroccan descent.[10] A former youth international for Belgium, El Khannous switched to represent the Morocco U20s.[11]
On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[12][13] On 17 December, he made his international debut in the World Cup third-place playoff against Croatia, which ended in a 2–1 defeat.[14]
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,[15][16] where the Atlas Lions won their first title[17][18] and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[17][19]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 10 November 2024[20]
| 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 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 9 | 1 | |
| Career total | 85 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 103 | 5 | ||
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
edit- As of match played 18 November 2024[21]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 18 | 0 | |
Honours
editMorocco U23
- U-23 Africa Cup of Nations: 2023[17][18]
- Summer Olympics Bronze Medal: 2024[22]
Individual
- Belgian Golden Shoe Best Young Player: 2022[23]
- Belgian Lion Award: 2023[24]
- Genk Player of the Season: 2023–24[25]
- Belgian Pro League Young Professional Footballer of the Season: 2023–24[26]
Orders
- Order of the Throne: 2022[27]
References
edit- ^ "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "El Khannous verlaat Anderlecht". www.anderlecht-online.be.
- ^ Projects, Sanmax. "Jeugdinternational Bilal El Khannouss (16) tekent eerste contract | KRC Genk". www.krcgenk.be.
- ^ "ONZE PUNTEN. Niet de avond van Paul Onuachu, knap debuut van Bilal El Khannous". www.hbvl.be.
- ^ "CAF announces CAF Awards 2023 Nominees for Men's Categories". CAF. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ Owynn, Palmer-Atkin. "X Post". X. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "Bilal El Khannouss Signs Four-Year Deal With Leicester City". lcfc.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "Bilal El Khannouss Signs Four-Year Deal With Leicester City". lcfc.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Marc Albrighton
- ^ "Un joueur de Genk préfère le Maroc à la Belgique". www.footnews.be.
- ^ l'Atlas, Lions De (22 June 2021). "Coupe arabe U20 : Les Lionceaux se préparent au festin face aux Requins du Djibouti".
- ^ "Morocco World Cup 2022 squad: Who's in and who's out? | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "Moroccan coach unveils list of 26 Atlas Lions in 2022 World Cup". HESPRESS English – Morocco News. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ Bart De Vré (17 December 2022). "Bilal El Khannouss, Racing Genk, maakte een prima debuut voor Marokko: "Zeker geslaagd"". voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch).
- ^ "Sei bianconeri con le nazionali". FC Lugano (in Italian). 9 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ "تشكيلة المنتخب الوطني لاقل من 23 سنة امام غينيا". Royal Moroccan Football Federation (in Arabic). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Le Mali, le Maroc et l'Égypte qualifiés pour les JO 2024". SO FOOT.com (in French). 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "Bilal el Khannouss Signs Four-Year Deal".
- ^ "El Khannouss, Bilal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "Egypt U23 vs Morocco U23: Olympics". BBC Sport. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Erraji, Abdellah (5 December 2023). "Morocco's Bilal El Khannouss Wins Belgian Lion Award 2023". Morocco World News. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ "Bilal El Khannouss wint Gouden Schoen van het OSV" (in Dutch). K.R.C. Genk. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ "KRC Genk plukt drie prijzen weg op Pro League Awards" (in Dutch). K.R.C. Genk. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ "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.
External links
edit