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(Credit: Visionhaus, Leicester City FC)
Edward Bazeley
Tue 12 August 2025 17:42, UK
Leicester City’s promotion chances have taken a serious dent amid the transfer interest in Bilal El Khannouss and Abdul Fatawu.
The Foxes are vying to win promotion back to the Premier League for the second time in two seasons after suffering relegation to the Championship last term.
Amid their efforts to return to the top flight, Leicester have signed former Everton goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Marti Cifuentes’ men successfully defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 on Sunday, 10 August as their Championship season got underway.
Photo Credit: Imago
Amid Leicester’s promotion push, attacking midfielder El Khannouss has attracted interest from Newcastle and Leeds.
Such advances are a major concern for Cifuentes, as both the Magpies and the Whites can hand the 21-year-old an instant Premier League return.
Meanwhile, as revealed by Sky Sports‘ live transfer blog at 5.57pm on Monday, 11 August that Everton are interested in Fatawu.
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Leicester cannot afford to lose both players amid their efforts to win promotion back to the Premier League.
However, their Championship status means that the Foxes cannot feasibly retain El Khannouss and Fatawu.
Fatawu was a key player when the East Midlands side won the 2023/24 Championship title, notching six goals and 13 assists in the second tier.
Meanwhile, El Khannouss demonstrated his talent when he notched two assists in Sunday’s win over Sheffield Wednesday.
Cifuentes faces an impossible task when it comes to deciding which of his two star men to let go of.
Football Insider verdict
Leicester’s chances of landing a top-two spot are set for a major dent when either, or both, of Fatawu or El Khannouss depart the East Midlands this summer.
Bilal El Khannouss statsChampionship 2025/26Appearances1Goals0Assists2El Khannouss started the Championship season well
However, Cifuentes’ side already appeared unconvincing despite the duo’s presence in their win over Wednesday.
While Leicester will be grateful to have added three points to their tally at the earliest possible opportunity, they narrowly defeated a financially stricken Owls side, who have lost several players this summer, partly thanks to Barry Bannan’s red card.
Even though the Foxes won, Cifuentes will be concerned by the fact that his relatively star-studded side could not put a weak South Yorkshire outfit to the sword.
Leicester’s performance against Henrik Pedersen’s side shows that they may struggle against fellow promotion candidates like Southampton, and the ambition of newly promoted Birmingham City could also be a concern.
Cifuentes’ men will need to put in a better performance on Saturday, 16 August, to overcome Preston in their second Championship fixture.
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