Moroccans are taking over the world of football, and I am all for it. Leicester City are not far from a dip in the narrative either. Last year, they got their hands on a now-21-year-old prodigy, Bilal El Khannouss, from Belgian side Genk, and the young gun has made headlines for all the good and bad reasons ever since.
During the time he played for the Foxes last season, his performances were largely erratic. Bilal had his moments, but there weren’t many of them. Indeed, he needed time to adapt to the pace, physicality, and tactical demands of the cruel English game, but Leicester invested a significant transfer fee, reportedly 21 million, so the expectations continued to be high.
Eventually, they turned their back on him and let him leave to VfB Stuttgart on a season-long loan, from which they have recovered 3 million of the transfer fee. Additionally, the loan deal has an option to buy for 30 million next season, but that will entirely depend on how Bilal plays this season.
Former Fox has completely flipped the script since Leicester City exit
From what it appears, Bilal is doing fantastic in the Bundesliga. He’s started four out of six games and has registered two goals to his name, plus another goal in the Europa League. For better understanding, it took him 37 appearances to score that many goals last season. I think he is doing fantastic for his age and finally appears to have found some footing in top-five European football.
And there may be a simple reason why there exists such a contrast between the season he is having with Stuttgart and the season he had with Leicester.
"I follow my instincts. Last season I overthought things "
An interesting conclusion to reach, that. It is entirely visible that Bilal is maturing and that he is finally getting the hang of what it is to play at the highest level in Europe. He’s starting to understand that overanalysis, which was so very visible last season in his game, does not do any good or bring any fruit.
Football, even at the highest level, remains a game of taking those chances that you think are too preposterous to attempt. And Bilal has that acumen in him.
There’s still a long part of the season pending, and we must keep a close eye on what’s happening around Bilal. If not for now, the Foxes must surely keep the question in mind whether they made a mistake including that buy option in the loan deal reserved under the bills in their drawer.