Hamburger SV Pursues Zakaria El Ouahdi Amid Genk Resistance

Hamburger SV have their man lined up. Now they just need to convince Genk to open the door.

According to HLN, Moroccan international Zakaria El Ouahdi has already agreed personal terms with the Bundesliga club. The player is ready, the project appeals, and the timing feels right for the 24-year-old attacking full-back to take the next step in his career.

The problem sits in Belgium.

Hamburg have submitted three offers to Genk. Three bids, three rejections. The Belgian side have yet to accept any proposal, holding out as negotiations drag on. Genk know exactly what they have: one of the most dynamic full-backs in their league, under no pressure to leave unless the price is right.

El Ouahdi, though, wants the move. That desire is shaping the tone of the talks and is expected to play a decisive role. With the player keen to join Hamburger SV and push on in a top-five league, there is a growing expectation that the clubs will eventually find common ground on a fee.

Genk have watched his value rise on the pitch. After a solid, if unspectacular, first season with the club, El Ouahdi’s real breakthrough came when Daniel Muñoz left for Crystal Palace. The vacancy on the flank opened a lane; El Ouahdi sprinted through it.

In the 2024/25 campaign he featured 40 times, scoring eight goals and adding two assists from full-back. Last season he went up another level: 12 goals in 45 games, plus five assists. Those are winger numbers from a defender, the kind of output that makes recruitment departments sit up and fight for signatures.

No wonder Hamburg are pushing. Back in the Bundesliga for a second straight season, they are looking for players who can both survive and excite. El Ouahdi fits that profile: aggressive going forward, productive in the final third, and still young enough to grow with the club.

If the deal finally goes through, he would not be arriving as a squad option or a long-term project. He would be expected to become a key piece of Hamburger SV’s second season back among Germany’s elite – the sort of signing that can tilt a campaign from mere consolidation towards genuine ambition.