Stuttgart determined to complete permanent capture of Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss | OneFootball

Sport Bild reports that VfB Stuttgart are ready to finalize the permanent purchase of Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss soon. The Bundesliga outfit already paid the EFL Championship a loan fee of around €3.5m to secure the Moroccan’s services for the season. Now, it appears the Württemberger are prepared to quickly meet the criteria that will trigger an automatic €18m purchase option.

What precisely the criteria for triggering the option are remains unclear, but it if – as is common – the option is tied to appearances, it should not be long before the 21-year-old meets them. El Khannouss has started in all four league fixtures since arriving in the BaWü capital and scored three goals in six appearances across all competitions. The Moroccan international’s enthusiasm for his new Bundesliga club has quickly rendered him a fan-favorite.

El Khannouss’ penchant for scoring spectacular long range goals continues to leave VfB head coach Sebastian Hoeneß praising the new addition he remained enthusiastic about from the very beginning. After El Khannouss netted the winner in a 1-0 win over Heidenheim over the weekend, Hoeneß discussed El Khannouss in great depth at the post-match press conference.

“In the second half, you saw what he is capable of,” Hoeneß said. “He is technically strong, agile, has great first touch, and is two-footed. He’s a great goal-scoring threat with an excellent goal-scoring rate. He still has some fluctuations and needs to find balance. Sometimes he wants to make things too beautiful or ingenious. He should remain in the center as he’s really dangerous there.”

GGFN | Peter Weis