Sunderland's football director Florent Ghisolfi IMAGO / Italy Photo Press

Sunderland Push to Sign €26M-Rated Target Also Pursued by Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa

Originally posted on Sunderland on SI | By Manuel Meza | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 12:01 PM ET

Sunderland continues insisting on signing Leicester City's Bilal El Khannouss, and are negotiating to reduce his exit clause valued at €26m.

This is reported by L'Equipe journalist Loic Tanzi, who also pointed out that the Foxes are looking to secure 10% of a future sale of El Khannouss, in case he is indeed sold.

The Black Cats, however, aren't the only club in England that are after the talented 21-year-old player, as he has also attracted interest from Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

Additionally, Ligue 1 side AS Monaco has also been linked to El Khannouss, though it's reported that the French club is still waiting to sell an attacker before trying to sign the Moroccan.

Sunderland push to sign Leicester's Bilal El Khannouss, also pursued by Forest and Villa

"Sunderland remain in talks with Leicester to lower Bilal El Khannouss' clause, estimated at €26m, plus 10% on a future resale," Tanzi began explaining on his Twitter (X) account.

"Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa are in the race. Monaco continues waiting for an exit before signing an attacker," added the journalist.

Sunderland continue de discuter avec Leicester pour faire baisser la clause de Bilal El Khannouss estimée à 26 M€, et 10% sur une prochaine revente. Nottingham Forest et Aston Villa sont en course. Monaco attend toujours un départ avant d’avancer sur un offensif #Mercato https://t.co/rUeCDeY6Uj
— Loïc Tanzi (@Tanziloic) July 21, 2025

Less than a week ago, Sky Sports reported that Leicester need to sell the player to meet their PSR obligations, and also to give maneuvering room to their sporting direction to be able to undertake other signings.

This represents good news for clubs interested in El Khannouss, as it's most likely that Leicester will end up being flexible when closing an agreement for his sale.

L'Equipe's report cites Forest and Villa as the other Premier League clubs interested in the player, but previously the same outlet had also linked West Ham with the Moroccan.

Moreover, some weeks ago Africa Foot reported that Arsenal had also shown interest in signing the 21-year-old playmaker.

We'll see if in the coming hours an update emerges on this matter, as it doesn't seem the Foxes have many alternatives, and will have to give in sooner or later.

This article first appeared on Sunderland on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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