Leicester City star told to follow Dewsbury-Hall path as Sunderland chase transfer deal | OneFootball

FLW's Leicester City Fan Pundit has questioned whether Sunderland would be the right destination for Bilal El Khannouss

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland have approached Leicester City's 21-year-old Bilal El Khannouss, with director of football Florent Ghisolfi personally overseeing the pursuit, according to L'Équipe.

The attacking midfielder, who joined Leicester from Genk for £21m last summer, apparently has no intention of playing Championship football following the Foxes' relegation.

The Black Cats have made six major signings so far this summer, including breaking their transfer record twice with the acquisitions of Enzo Le Fée from Roma for £19.3m and Habib Diarra from Strasbourg for £30m.

Their other notable additions include Simon Adingra from Brighton for £21m, Noah Sadiki from Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise for £15m, and Chemsdine Talbi from Club Brugge - the Mackem's DOF Ghisolfi joined from AS Roma in July.

Leicester City, Sunderland switch questioned for Bilal El Khannouss

FLW's Leicester City Fan Pundit, Louchlainn Martin, has questioned whether Sunderland would be the right destination for Bilal El Khannouss, despite the Black Cats' impressive summer recruitment splurge that has seen them spend over £100m.

"Yeah I've seen the rumours linking Bilal El Khannouss to Sunderland, a little bit surprising - I thought that he would be sought after by some of the bigger clubs to be honest with you," Martin told FLW.

"Sunderland are doing great things in the summer window in my opinion. Some of the players they’ve brought in are more than capable of keeping them in the division but we know how difficult it can be to stay up, obviously we’ve seen six out of six in the last two seasons relegated (newly-promoted teams) and I think it is a bit risky for him."

Martin suggests that El Khannouss might be better served staying at Leicester for another season, following the path of players like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - who left Leicester for Chelsea after helping them win the Championship.

"I’m not saying El Khannouss should stay at Leicester - there is definitely an argument to be had that he can stay at Leicester, have one incredible year, loads of goals, loads of assists and get a bigger move in the summer - a bit like Dewsbury-Hall did," Martin explained.

Dewsbury-Hall scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 44 league appearances before securing his £30m move to Stamford Bridge.

Going to Sunderland from Leicester will be "a big risk" for Bilal El Khannouss

El Khannouss made 32 Premier League appearances for Leicester last season, contributing two goals and three assists. His performances have also attracted attention from Bayer Leverkusen, who view him as a potential replacement for Florian Wirtz.

This is partly the reason why Martin believes El Khannous' ceiling his higher than Sunderland, " I do think Sunderland is quite a big risk seeing as though they’ll still be one of the favourites to go down no matter who they bring in, I do think he would bring a lot to the team, he’s an incredible player, incredible talent, and he is reportedly available for in and around the £25m range which is a no brainer for most teams in the Premier League," he added.

"He’s previously been linked with Bayer Leverkusen, he’s had very loose links to Arsenal, AS Roma, Monaco, I could see him going to one of those clubs but really, Sunderland, is that the best you can do Bilal, i’m not sure."

Martins' assessment is complicated by Leicester's own uncertain future, with the club facing potential points deductions for alleged breaches of Profit and Sustainability Rules.

He added, "Of course, if Leicester weren’t due any point deductions i would actually fancy him to stay, but we are due a points deduction, the likelihood is we’re not going to go back up and first attempt and it is probably a bigger risk for him to stay at Leicester than it is to go to Sunderland.

"It will be a great signing for them, it would be another step in the right direction for their survival hopes, but I do fear for Bilal if he goes there he could be regretting it in a years time," Martin concluded.

Ultimately, El Khannouss wants out of the East Midlands, and Sunderland could offer him a great opportunity to be a part of a new-look Premier League side. Signing multiple African players already, it's perhaps not a surprise to see the Moroccan linked with the club - much to Martin's dismay.