Nottingham Forest are drawing up a list of potential replacements for Morgan Gibbs-White.
Morgan Gibbs-White is expected to join Tottenham Hotspur despite a dispute between the two clubs over how he was approached.
Therefore, Nottingham Forest are eyeing Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa, who is valued at around £40m by the West Midlanders.
James McAtee is also on Forest’s radar, too, and the Manchester City playmaker is open to a move to the City Ground.
A fresh transfer rumour emerged last night, and Pep Guardiola is a big fan of the player Nottingham Forest have now added to their shortlist.
Leicester City playmaker Bilal El Khannouss.
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Pep Guardiola loves Nottingham Forest target Bilal El Khannouss
Nottingham Forest are considering a bid for Bilal El Khannouss after his impressive individual campaign for Leicester City.
El Khannouss is expected to leave the relegated Foxes, who will have to raise funds to budget for the Championship.
The 21-year-old is available for around £40m, although, there are suggestions that he may have a relegation release clause in his contract.
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Pep Guardiola is actually a really big fan of El Khannouss as the Moroccan revealed what the Spaniard told him after Leicester faced Man City last term.
“He (Guardiola) said he was impressed by my play today. I am not. I know myself and this is the player I can be. I have to show that every week now,” the Leicester star told Sporza in December 2024.
“I think it was my best performance since I’ve been here. But I’m not impressed because this is the Bilal I know. I’m really confident. I’m enjoying the game and enjoying the day because we have the best job in the world, to play football.
“After a few games now, I am adapted. People can see now who I am. I will continue to work on this and build so I can show this every week in the new year.”
El Khannouss has ‘unbelievable feet’
El Khannouss’ former Genk coach explained earlier this year how raw he was when he was coming through the Belgian club’s academy but admitted he had ‘unbelievable feet’.
“We took him when he was 14 from Anderlecht, where they didn’t believe in him as much as we did,” Ribeiro told Sky Sports.
“He was a tiny, slight boy at that age, very thin. But he had unbelievable feet and great vision, and he was always hungry to learn and do extra stuff.
“The way you are seeing him play for Leicester is the way he trained here with us. Always happy, with a big smile, working hard. Of course, he needs the confidence of his coach, but I think he has got that with Van Nistelrooy, becoming a starter. You can see he has grown.”
If Forest do land his signature, they’d be getting a really progressive player who’s not shy of trying the extraordinary.
And, if Guardiola rates El Khannouss, then that’s a pretty telling sign he’s got bags of quality.