Bought from Sporting CP by Leicester City for a record fee, Islam Slimani isn’t exactly being used like the club’s most expensive player of all time.
More of an impact sub and only starting 16 games for the Foxes since arriving last summer, the Algeria international’s situation at his club has also played a part in him not being called up by his country, despite normally being one of the first names on the team sheet.
One man who is a huge fan of his is his former manager, Marco Silva, who is now doing very good things at Watford after mastering a near miraculous escape from relegation with Hull City last season.
So much so, in fact, that the Portuguese manager wanted to bring the Leicester City forward to Vicarage Road over the summer, which Slimani himself admitted in an interview with Le Buteur over the weekend.
He said: “Yes. It’s true that I had a chat with my old Sporting CP manager, Marco Silva. He was very interested and had presented me a magnificent project, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
“My club, Leicester, wanted me to stay, and my board told me they needed me. Anyways, it’s in the past, and only my future with Leicester counts now”.
And Watford wasn’t the only offer he got.
He added: “I’ll confess I received many offers, but my club refused to free me, and if the manager Shakespeare opposed himself to me leaving, it’s because he knows what I’m worth”.
Only playing 271 minutes of football so far this season, the 29-year-old has scored three goals, which have all come in two EFL Cup games, in seven appearances.
Shakespeare might appear to know what he’s worth, but he’s not exactly showing it, is he?
