Bilal El Khannouss has completed a permanent move from Leicester to VfB Stuttgart after a loan spell that gave the German club a clear case for keeping him. He made 41 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring nine goals and supplying seven assists as Stuttgart finished fourth in the Bundesliga and secured Champions League football.
That is a strong enough return on its own. It also looks like the natural outcome of a season in which El Khannouss moved well beyond being a useful loan option and became a regular contributor.
Why Stuttgart wanted to keep him
The first reason is simple: he played a lot and produced enough. El Khannouss was involved across the full season, not in short bursts, with 41 appearances in all competitions. For a club deciding whether to turn a temporary deal into a permanent one, availability matters almost as much as output.
The output was convincing too. His nine goals and seven assists came across all competitions, while his Bundesliga numbers still held up well on their own: 25 appearances, four goals and five assists. Those are not inflated cup-only figures. They show he gave Stuttgart real league value over the course of the campaign.
That matters even more when set against the team outcome. VfB Stuttgart finished fourth in the Bundesliga, which secured Champions League football. Clubs at that level do not usually make permanent moves out of sentiment after a loan spell. They do it when the player has shown he can help sustain that standard.
Fabian Wohlgemuth made that point clearly in his assessment of the deal. Speaking to BBC Sport, Stuttgart's sporting director said: "In the season just ended, Bilal excelled across all competitions in a VfB shirt and has established himself at a young age as one of the lynchpins of the Moroccan national team. Bilal already has exceptional footballing skills, but at the same time, we see further scope for development. As such, we're convinced that he's not yet reached his full potential."
That quote matters because it goes beyond polite transfer-announcement language. Stuttgart are not only rewarding what Bilal El Khannouss did last season, they are buying into what they think he can still become.
Why a Leicester return was fading fast
The other side of this move is Leicester, and the context there made a return increasingly unlikely. BBC Sport reported: "The prospect of the playmaker returning to the King Power Stadium was unlikely, following Leicester's second successive relegation which has left them preparing for League One football next term."
That does not need much decoding. A player coming off a productive season for a side that has qualified for the Champions League was always going to be difficult to pull back into a club preparing for League One football. Even without stretching the point, the sporting direction of the two clubs had clearly split.
It is also why the permanent move feels earned rather than convenient. El Khannouss did not drift into a permanent stay because circumstances changed around him. He gave VfB Stuttgart enough on the pitch to justify it, then the broader picture around Leicester removed most of the logic for a return.
What Stuttgart are buying now
The most sensible reading of this transfer is that Stuttgart are buying a player who has already shown he can contribute in volume and fit into a successful season. The 41 appearances underline trust. The nine goals and seven assists underline production. The fourth-place finish gives the whole move proper context.
There is also a fair football point underneath the numbers. Players on loan can have bright spells without really changing a club's medium-term thinking. This does not look like that kind of case. Stuttgart saw enough league contribution, enough all-competitions output and enough room for growth to make the deal permanent.
For Leicester, the move fits the reality of where the club now stand. For Bilal El Khannouss, it is the reward for a season that was productive from start to finish. For VfB Stuttgart, it is a permanent signing backed by 41 appearances, nine goals, seven assists and a top-four Bundesliga finish.
FAQ
Why did VfB Stuttgart sign Bilal El Khannouss permanently?
[VfB Stuttgart](club:vfb-stuttgart) made [Bilal El Khannouss](player:bilal-el-khannouss)' move permanent after a productive loan spell. He made 41 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists. Stuttgart also finished fourth in the Bundesliga and secured Champions League football, so the club had clear evidence that he could contribute across a full season.
How did Bilal El Khannouss perform for Stuttgart during his loan spell?
[El Khannouss](player:bilal-el-khannouss) made 41 appearances in all competitions for [Stuttgart](club:vfb-stuttgart), scoring nine goals and adding seven assists. In the Bundesliga alone, he played 25 times, with four goals and five assists. Those numbers explain why the club decided he was worth keeping on a permanent deal.
Why was Bilal El Khannouss unlikely to return to Leicester?
BBC Sport reported that a return to [Leicester](club:leicester) was unlikely after the club's second successive relegation left them preparing for League One football next term. That background made a permanent stay at [VfB Stuttgart](club:vfb-stuttgart) a much more logical outcome for [Bilal El Khannouss](player:bilal-el-khannouss).
Did Bilal El Khannouss help Stuttgart qualify for the Champions League?
He was part of the [VfB Stuttgart](club:vfb-stuttgart) side that finished fourth in the Bundesliga and secured Champions League football. His contribution was significant across the season, with 41 appearances, nine goals and seven assists in all competitions during the loan spell.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
