Leicester’s title defence as not begun as per plan, with the side eking out just one victory in their first 3 league games. However, Claudio Ranieri is not sitting idle and letting fate take over the reigns of the fortunes of the club as he has been bolstering the side in numerous positions.
The Italian has already signed the explosive forward Ahmed Musa from CSKA Moscow, the reliable Nampalys Mendy from Nice and the exciting 19 year old Bartosz Kapustka from Cracovia and looks set to sign Algerian striker Islam Slimani from Sporting Lisbon for a club-record fee of €35 million, after the player was allowed to leave the Algeria camp to undergo a medical at Leicester City.
A few critics pointed out that Leicester were too dependent on the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez and would find life in the new season tough should either of them experience a dip in form and Ranieri has been on the lookout for a striker in order to reduce the burden on the shoulders of the duo.
Who is Islam Slimani?
The 28-year-old striker began life in Europe with Sporting Lisbon when he signed for them at the beginning of the 2013 season from CR Belouizdad. While he did find extended playing time tough to come in his first season, mainly used as an impact player, his consistent performances soon ensured that he was handed a starting role at the club in the subsequent season and the player has not looked back ever since.
The striker has been in fine goal scoring form ever since making the move to Sporting, finding the back of the net on 57 occasions in 109 appearances for the club across all competitions. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet, is an aerial threat in the box and has shown an ability to link up excellently with his attacking colleagues for the club as well as country.
His tenacity in attack as well as in defence has endeared him to a number of Sporting faithful and we expect the trend to continue during his stint at the King Power Stadium.
What does he bring to Leicester?
Only 2 players managed to breach the 10 goal mark across all competitions for the club in the last season, with Vardy finding the back of the net on 24 occasions and Mahrez on 18 occasions. The Algerian striker is expected to share the goal scoring responsibility at the club in the coming season and should he replicate his form from the previous seasons, Leicester could have made one of the best signings of the summer.
A technically sound player with a good physique, the player wrecked havoc amongst the Portuguese defence last season with his displays in the final third of the pitch and is not expected to have troubles in adapting to a new league. The move also reunites him with Riyad Mahrez whom he plays with for the Algerian team and the duo will be hoping that they can kick off a new partnership at the club level without losing much time.
While he does not possess any particular weakness, his tenacity has often caused him problems with several disciplinary issues in the past. He will be keen to avoid the same in England, a country where the press is on the lookout for any issue on and off the pitch in order to grab eyeballs.
