Why Leicester City should let go of Islam Slimani
As per La Gazette du Fennec (h/t Leicestershire Live), Leicester City are looking to sell their forward Islam Slimani. He has currently returned to King Power Stadium after completing his loan spell with French outfit AS Monaco.
Slimani, 32, joined the Foxes from Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2016 for a club-record fee of £29m. However, he has been sent on several loan spells in the last four years after failing to make an impact at Leicester City.
He was impressive this season with Monaco on loan. He scored 9 goals and provided 7 assists in 19 games across all competitions. But his time in England has been totally different. The 32-year-old managed just 13 goals in 46 games for the Midlands club despite arriving four years back.
The Algerian international earned a big-money move to England following a whopping 27-goal campaign with Sporting Lisbon in the 2015-16 season. But he has never been the same since switching from Portugal and has shown only glimpses of his earlier form.
Before going to Monaco, he was with Fenerbahce, where he netted just 5 goals in 25 games across all competitions in the 2018/19 season. Prior to that, he managed to feature in just 4 games for Newcastle and had no goals to his credit during his time there. Thus, with the striker failing to impress in England, the Foxes should look to offload the Algerian at the earliest.
Slimani is surplus to the requirements of Leicester City
Brendan Rodgers’ side have endured a decent campaign so far though they have struggled in recent months. They are currently 3rd in the league and are hoping to qualify for the Champions League.
The Foxes have a good attacking unit, led by star striker Jamie Vardy. He has netted 19 goals in the league and is the top scorer in the division. Second choice striker Kelechi Iheanacho has also been equally excellent despite playing fewer games. The Nigerian has 3 goals and 4 assists in 14 league games.
The manager also reinforced his attack last summer by signing Ayoze Perez from Newcastle United. And the Spaniard has been an instant hit, racking up 7 goals and 4 assists in 26 league games this season. He has established himself as a regular starter.
That said, it would be unnecessary for Leicester to hold on to Slimani. The Foxes have adequate options up front and the former Sporting Lisbon man would not be able to make it to Rodgers’ starting XI. And this would only result in a waste of resources.
Verdict
In all this time, Slimani has failed to make it to Leicester’s squad regularly despite the club spending big on him. Apart from this season, he has also failed to impress in his loan spells. Thus, the Foxes offloading the Algerian international in the summer is the need of the hour.
