According to a report by kicker, a move for El Khannouss to Newcastle United will not materialise. The report says an agreement between the Premier League club and the VfB star is nowhere in sight. Most recently, Foot Mercato had reported that Newcastle were considering a transfer for El Khannouss because he would be a perfect fit for the style of play of their new coach Matthias Jaissle.
Instead, kicker reports that El Khannouss was holding out for an even bigger club from the island to make contact. A return to England was very much on the mind of the gifted technician after his time with Leicester City in 2024/25, who have since fallen into the third division,. Newcastle, though, may simply not have appealed enough.
Unless one of England's giants does get in touch with El Khannouss before the summer transfer window closes on Tuesday, the 22-year-old is now likely to spend the 2026/27 season in Stuttgart too. VfB initially signed El Khannouss on loan from Leicester last year, and after the conditions for a purchase had been met, the permanent deal was officially announced at the end of May. The Swabians, with whom he has signed until 2030, paid a total fee of 18 million euros for the Moroccan.
Why could Bilal El Khannouss cause unrest at VfB Stuttgart?
For a season packed with Champions League football, El Khannouss staying would certainly boost Stuttgart's squad depth. There is, however, said to be dissatisfaction on El Khannouss's part over his current standing at the team who finished fourth in last season's Bundesliga, which probably also explains his desire to move.
.jpeg?format=pjpg&quality=60&auto=webp&width=380)
Getty Images
In both the competitive opener in the DFB Cup against Hansa Rostock (4-0) and the Bundesliga opener against Bayern Munich (1-5), El Khannouss spent most of the game on the bench and only came on in the closing stages, with coach Sebastian Hoeneß preferring Tiago Tomas each time. The final matches of last season had already left the Morocco international frustrated, as he was used only as a substitute, among other times, in the DFB Cup final against Bayern Munich (0-3). He did not feature at all in the 2-2 against Eintracht Frankfurt on Bundesliga matchday 34.
Up until shortly before Christmas, El Khannouss had mostly been a regular starter for VfB and had impressed. After returning from the Africa Cup at the end of January, though, the situation changed for the attacking player and he then drifted between the starting XI and the bench.