[2] Bounida played with the youth teams of Anderlecht, and regularly was featured in international media as the new big talent from a very young age.
[3][4][5] On his sixteenth birthday it was announced that he would sign a professional contract with Dutch team Ajax, for a rumoured €700,000 per year.
[2][6] Many major European teams were interested in signing the young player, including Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
He came on as a subtitute in the 86th minute and scored Jong Ajax's second goal in added time in a 2–0 victory.
[8] He scored 4 goals in his first 5 Jong Ajax games, moving to the starting line-up by late January.