Newcastle United join Spurs in race to sign £21m Leicester City star | OneFootball

Newcastle United are the latest club to join the race for the Leicester City player

Newcastle United have joined the race for Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss.

The Foxes kicked off their Championship campaign with a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, coming from behind to defeat the Owls.

However, Marti Cifuentes may have to fend off yet another side in pursuit of one of his star players.

Newcastle United eyeing up move for Bilal El Khannouss

El Khannouss has been the subject of extensive transfer interest this summer, following an impressive debut campaign with the Foxes last term.

Sunderland, AS Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United have all previously been linked with the 21-year-old, who provided two assists in Leicester City’s Championship opener against Wednesday.

The Mackems now reportedly face competition from their arch-rivals, Newcastle United, with John Percy stating via X that Eddie Howe’s side have a strong interest in the attacking midfielder.

Percy also mentioned that Leeds United were keen on El Khannouss earlier in the summer, alongside other Premier League clubs.

It has been previously reported that the player has a release clause worth €26 (£22.5) million in his deal, which is just higher than the £21 million Leicester forked out for his services last summer.

El Khannouss has a contract with the Foxes until the summer of 2028 after joining from Genk last summer.

The young talent featured 32 times in the Premier League last term, contributing two goals and three assists. This couldn’t prevent Leicester’s relegation however, but impressed a whole host of top-flight teams.

Leicester City have an uphill fight to keep Bilal El Khannouss

With Newcastle United now joining the hunt for El Khannouss, it seems an even harder task for Leicester City to retain his services this summer.

Champions League outfits such as Tottenham and the Magpies will present an extremely attractive opportunity for the 21-year-old, which may prove too tempting to turn down.

The attacking midfielder showed how crucial he could be for the Foxes during their Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday, providing two assists and claiming the Player of the Match award.

His skillset and ability are clearly above the second-tier level but keeping an asset such as El Khannouss would boost Leicester’s chances of promotion tenfold.

However, the prospect of that seems increasingly unlikely with the calibre of names that have been credited with an interest in the Foxes’ man.

Leicester may hope that the fact some top-flight teams wouldn’t be able to guarantee El Khannouss playing time might work in their favour, but that seems to be the only slight bit of hope Cifuentes and Co. can cling on to right now.