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'He has that level' - Liverpool target backed for Anfield move by own club chief

'He has that level' - Liverpool target backed for Anfield move by own club chief

Andy Headspeath 23 Feb 2024, 18:30 Last modified: 23 Feb 2024

Liverpool transfer target Bilal El Khannouss is already good enough for a move to Anfield, according to the technical director of Genk where the young midfielder currently plays.

Teenage star El Khannouss has been linked with Liverpool for some time, with reports of the Reds' interest in the Genk star dating back to last year.

Last month, one report claimed that Liverpool even invited the highly rated 19-year-old's agent over for talks about a potential move.

Now, rather than play down transfer speculation, Genk technical director Dimitri de Condé has backed his club's young star to join a club of Liverpool's level in the near future, without first taking an 'intermediate' step in his career.

“What is good for Bilal El Khannouss? A good future perspective? I think that’s what it’s all about,” he said on the MIDMID podcast (via SportWitness).

“For us as a club, this is always combined with money. But for me the absolute question is: Is it good for Bilal? Because everyone always says that he has to take an intermediate step. Personally, I’m not 100% sure. I think that the faster it goes for Bilal, the easier it becomes.

“Yes, but Bilal will never, not even in an intermediate step, go to a team at that level and play 80 or 100 percent of the minutes at the age of nineteen. You shouldn’t expect that, but why can’t he participate in a team like Liverpool, to name a club?

“I know the players there too. He really has that level, especially in his ball handling and he also has the running ability. If you don’t have that, you may have a problem. But Bilal also has enormous running ability. I think he is a unique player.”

El Khannouss, whose contract at Genk runs until 2027, has scored three times and registered five assists in 23 Jupiler Pro League appearances so far this season.

The Belgium-born Morocco international, who typically plays as a central attacking midfielder but has also featured on the left-hand side, has also been linked with the likes of Atletico Madrid and Manchester United in recent months.