Bouaddi’s decision stands
©IMAGO
His permanent move to VfB Stuttgart has just been officially announced, but now Bilal El Khannouss can look forward to the World Cup. Morocco’s 26-man squad for the tournament in North America was unveiled on Tuesday evening. As with the subsequent Africa Cup triumph and the March internationals, El Khannouss is one of them.
Amine Adli was also there in March, but he didn’t make it into national coach Mohamed Ouahbi’s squad. There are only seven Moroccan footballers who have a higher market value than the former Leverkusen player, who has recently had little chance of playing at Bournemouth.
The same applies to the current Bayer professional Eliesse Ben Seghir, who, like Adli, has a market value of 20 million euros and is also missing. The 21-year-old only returned from an injury in the Bundesliga late last season and was no longer able to book his World Cup ticket. At the Africa Cup, the winger was still part of the Moroccan squad (one of the most valuable Moroccans in football).
The second most valuable footballer the Atlas Lions have at their disposal is now LOSC talent Ayyoub Bouaddi. The 18-year-old decided on a future in the Moroccan association after coming through the junior teams of the French selection. Now the midfielder, who only made his debut shortly before being named in the friendly against Burundi (5-0) on Tuesday, is heading to the World Cup with Morocco. There the selection in Group C meets Brazil, Scotland and Haiti (all groups in the overview).
The game against Burundi marked the end of a five-day training camp in which Schalke’s Soufiane El-Faouzi and Frankfurt’s Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab were also able to present themselves to the national coach for the first time – with a better outcome for the SGE professional. “We were very surprised by his level even before training camp,” revealed Ouahbi. “He is really a player with a very interesting profile. He is young, dynamic, explosive and understands very quickly what is required of him. (…) He is a very interesting, young player who confirmed exactly what we expected from him in today’s game. He did not surprise us. He truly deserves it. (…) He proved that he belongs.”
El Khannouss “not yet at the end of his development”
It was only on Monday that VfB Stuttgart officially announced that El Khannouss was staying and would be signed permanently after his loan from Leicester City. Sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth had already revealed in March that the conditions for the purchase option had been met. According to reports, a transfer fee of 15 million euros is due. “Bilal showed convincing performances in the VfB jersey in all competitions last season, and he also plays a central role in the Moroccan national team as a young player,” Wohlgemuth was quoted as saying in a VfB statement. “Bilal already has exceptional footballing skills, but at the same time we see further development potential in him and are therefore convinced that he has not yet reached the end of his development.”
