BREAKING NEWS LIVE:  Genk attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss to Liverpool 

Liverpool have initiated contact over a record-breaking deal to sign Bilal El Khannouss

Liverpool have made contact over an attacking midfield signing that would shatter a club’s transfer record, and who their two chief competitors in the transfer race are have been revealed.

The Reds have been conspicuously quiet this month, with Liverpool seemingly content to rely on those already at their disposal for the second half of the season.

Ahead of the winter window opening its doors, ESPN claimed Liverpool had a £40m budget to spend. However, speculation over mid-season arrivals has been thin on the ground.

Jurgen Klopp and co may be content to wait until the summer window to show their hand. To that end, reports in Belgium claim the Reds are putting the pieces in place regarding a future signing in midfield.

Firstly, Belgian publication Het Laatste Nieuws (as cited by Sports reported Liverpool are sizing up Genk sensation, Bilal El Khannouss.

The attacking midfielder may only be 19 years of age, though is already a guaranteed starter for Genk and has racked up 76 first-team appearances for the club.

El Khannouss is also a fully-fledged Morocco international and debuted for the senior side during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Liverpool have reportedly tasked scouts with monitoring El Khannouss this season, though they aren’t alone. Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen as well as LaLiga giant Atletico Madrid are also hovering over the player.

Liverpool are labelled ‘convinced’ by El Khannouss’ potential and it’s suggested there’s a ‘good chance’ he secures a major transfer at season’s end.

El Khannouss transfer to smash Genk record

What’s more, Genk director, Dimitri De Conde, revealed he hopes Genk will collect a record fee for El Khannouss when speaking in November.

“I have always said to Bilal and his entourage that we believe he should become the most expensive outgoing transfer in Belgian football,” he said.

Belgian football’s record sale remains the roughly €35m AC Milan paid when signing Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge in 2022.

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According to a second Belgian outlet, De Morgen, El Khannouss won’t cost quite that much.

Nonetheless, the €30m target fee Genk have set would shatter their own club record. Genk’s most lucrative ever sale came in January 2020 when selling Sander Berge to Sheffield United for €25m.

Liverpool make contact; Genk greenlight sale

A third Belgian source – Het Belang van Limburg (also cited by Sport Witness) – has provided information on the midfielder’s future and it’s they who add the most tantalising update.

They claim El Khannouss’ mother – who doubles up as her son’s agent – has ‘invited’ clubs to discuss the teen star’s future. Liverpool, Leverkusen and Atletico are once again named as the three clubs vying for his signature.

It’s claimed Liverpool have ‘initiated contacts’ over what would be a signing for the summer and not right now. An agreement could be wrapped up long before then, though El Khannouss wouldn’t move to Anfield until the summer.