Report: Newcastle eye prolific international striker with CL experience
By Harry Sykes
Newcastle are interested in Leicester City striker Islam Slimani, according to a report.
Algerian media outlet Le Buteur claims that Newcastle and Premier League rivals West Brom are keen on the international striker who joined Leicester for £25.5million last summer.
It is reported that Everton were also keen on landing the Algerian international but have dropped their interest after announcing the arrival of Wayne Rooney from Manchester United.
Slimani came to the Premier League on the back of an incredible scoring record with Sporting CP where he notched 27 goals in just 33 Liga NOS appearances.
He’s also hugely prolific at international level, with 25 goals in 51 games.
He didn’t manage to reproduce that form at Leicester, with seven goals in 23 league games, but he wasn’t given an extended run in the side, with just 13 starts for the Midlands club.
He did score a goal in the Champions League for Leicester, in the 1-0 win against Porto.
Le Buteur claim that Slimani is keen to press for a first-team place at Leicester, but that the club is willing to listen to offers for the 29-year-old forward.
He’s under contract until 2021, so it’s doubtful that Leicester would let Slimani leave without recouping a decent chunk of the money they paid Sporting CP.
In other Newcastle transfer news, the Magpies have been installed as favourites to sign this midfielder with PL experience.
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