Manchester City ’emphatically following’ Morocco international midfielder – Club want to break €32M record | OneFootball

KRC Genk are at the centre of attention from Manchester City and Napoli, according to a report, with Bilal El Khannouss a player of interest to both clubs.

The teenage sensation was recently named in Morocco’s 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and made his international debut in the third-place play-off at the tournament against Croatia.

So far this season, El Khannouss has made an impressive 18 appearances in the Belgian Pro League for KRC Genk, providing two assists in the process – in victories against KV Mechelen, and most recently, Club Brugge.

The Moroccan international’s meteoric rise in the game following the World Cup could be set to continue, with a new report emerging in Belgian media this week suggesting that Premier League champions Manchester City are among the clubs most interested in the player.

According to the information of HLN Sport in Belgium, Manchester City and Napoli are the clubs that ‘most emphatically follow’ KRC Genk’s exciting midfield talent Bilal El Khannouss at present.

However, it is stated that the Belgian club want to retain the services of the 18 year-old for ‘at least another year and a half’, before breaking the record for the most expensive outgoing transfer in Belgium.

That record is currently held by Charles De Ketelaere – who left Club Brugge last summer in favour of Serie A giants AC Milan, in a deal valued at an initial €32 million.

Manchester City and their parent company – the City Football Group – are continuously on the search for football’s next big talents, and that hunt most recently took them back to Argentina, following the success seen by Julian Alvarez.

Velez Sarsfield and Argentina under-20 international Maximo Perrone is expected to sign for Manchester City in the coming days, before joining up with the club next month.

While some at the Etihad Stadium deem Perrone as a talent for the future, there is also a feeling that the 20 year-old will not be sent to one of the City Football Group’s clubs, and instead be viewed in a similar vein to Alvarez when he joined from River Plate.