Rewind six weeks and Leeds United are approaching the end of the summer window, with fans calling for the club to bring in another attacking player with set-piece quality.
Many names were linked with Leeds. Facundo Buonanotte had a flight booked ahead of a loan to Leeds from Brighton, but Chelsea hijacked a move. Eduard Spertsyan is another option Leeds looked at signing.
Attention turned to Harry Wilson on the final day, but Fulham pulled the plug at the final minute. It is said that Fulham’s failure to do a £22m deal for Chelsea’s Tyrique George is the reason Fulham keep Wilson.
Another player linked with Leeds for much of the final few weeks of the window was Bilal El Khannouss. A rare shining light for Leicester last term, El Khannouss’ set-piece assists caught Leeds eye in the summer.
Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty ImagesBilal El Khannouss rubs salt in Leeds wounds after Tottenham loss
Leeds held a meeting with El Khannous’ camp. They informed his representatives they would pay the clause in his Leicester deal, and Graham Smyth reported that El Khannouss was keen to move to Leeds.
But PSR is likely to have prevented Leeds from doing a deal. Instead, he joined Stuttgart on a year’s loan with a £22m obligation expected to be activated. Fast forward to now, and El Khannouss is thriving.
On Sunday, he scored the winner as Stuttgart limped past Heidenheim to win 1-0. Receiving the ball while facing away from goal, El Khannouss slalomed his way past numerous players to slot into the corner.
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Bilal El Khannouss’ stats this season for Leicester and Stuttgart
A gorgeous finish that proved enough for Stuttgart to beat Heidenheim and win 1-0, bouncing back from a 2-0 loss to Basel in the week. It was El Khannouss’ third goal in six games for the Bundesliga giants.
Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images
Already this season, five goals and assists in nine games for Leicester and Stuttgart. It comes at the same time that Leeds only managed to score once on Saturday, losing 2-1 to Spurs when they deserved to win.
At a bargain price of just £22m, El Khannouss’ form for Stuttgart will have Leeds fans feeling gutted. It remains to be seen if Leicester would have sold to another England club for the same price, as Stuttgart.