El Karouani, who's reportedly also being chased by Olympique Marseille, is allowed to leave FC Utrecht in case a sufficient bid is submitted for the attacking full-back.
Jeroen Kapteijns of De Telegraaf and several Russian outlets have reported that Spartak Moscow are after El Karouani. The Russian side are reportedly willing to submit a bid worth €5 million for the Moroccan left-back, whose contract at FC Utrecht expires in 2026.
Spartak Moscow, like all other Russian clubs, are banned from UEFA competitions and therefore likely less attractive to El Karouani, who's already guaranteed to play European football with Utrecht and has other European outfits going after him.
"Not a fan of that"
Following Utrecht's 2-1 defeat away at Sparta, El Karouani did not comment on any rumours concerning his future. "What do you want me to say? I can't say anything about it and would rather stick to the match."
FC Utrecht manager Ron Jans was more vocal about a potential move to Russia. "I was already happy that Michel Vlap didn't go there. I'm not a fan of that."
The 24-year-old El Karouani joined FC Utrecht from NEC Nijmegen in 2023 as a free agent. El Karouani was pivotal in FC Utrecht finishing fourth in the Eredivisie last season with eight assists and two goals. This season, El Karouani has provided five assists and scored one goal in six games across the Eredivisie and Europa League qualifying phase.