Zakaria El Ouahdi's Transfer Saga with Hamburger SV

Zakaria El Ouahdi has reached an agreement on personal terms with Hamburger SV, according to HLN, but the real battle is still being fought in the boardroom.

The Moroccan international wants the move. Hamburg want him. Genk, so far, are holding the line.

The Bundesliga side have already sent three offers to the Belgian club, and three times they have been turned away. No deal, not yet. But with the 24-year-old pushing for a transfer to advance his career, there is a growing sense that both clubs will eventually find a number they can live with.

You can see why Hamburg are persistent. El Ouahdi has grown into one of the standout attacking full-backs in Belgian football in recent seasons, a modern wide defender who treats the flank as his personal runway.

His first year at Genk was solid rather than spectacular, a period of adaptation and flashes of what might come. The real surge arrived when Daniel Muñoz left for Crystal Palace. The vacancy on the right opened a door; El Ouahdi walked straight through it.

In the 2024/25 campaign he played 40 games, scored eight goals and added two assists – impressive output for a full-back and a clear statement that he was more than just a defensive option. Last season he went up another gear: 12 goals and five assists across 45 appearances, numbers that would make many wingers proud.

Those figures explain Hamburg’s insistence. They see a ready-made weapon for their second season back in the Bundesliga, a player who can drive them higher up the table rather than simply help them survive. A full-back who arrives in the final third with conviction changes the whole rhythm of a team.

For now, the move hangs on Genk’s willingness to cash in. But with El Ouahdi’s desire to leave no secret and Hamburg already deep into negotiations, the question feels less about if he goes – and more about when he starts bombing down the flank in a Hamburger SV shirt.