Leicester’s summer recruitment drive came to its conclusion on Wednesday evening with the club-recordsigning of Sporting Lisbon forward Islam Slimani. The 28-year-old arrives for an undisclosed fee believed to be worth up to £29 million.
Slimani put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the Foxes and, speaking to the club’s official website, explained how he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to link up with compatriot Riyad Mahrez:
“I’ve always wanted to play my football in the Premier League and to get the opportunity to do that with the reigning champions was something I simply could not turn down… My friend Riyad Mahrez spoke to me about the Club and about the atmosphere the Leicester fans create at King Power Stadium. I will give absolutely everything I have on the pitch for them and for my team-mates and I hope that together we can achieve something special.”
The History
Slimani’s career began in his homeland at JSM Cheraga, scoring 21 goals in 22 matches in 2008/09, before he joined another Algerian side, CR Belouizdad in May 2009.
Over the next four seasons, Slimani’s development continued at a steady pace, scoring 32 goals in 96 appearances, before securing a move to Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon in August 2013.
He wasn’t a regular starter during the first few months at the club, but, by the end of the 2013/14 season, had forced his way into the starting XI, and ended the campaign with a reasonable eight goals and four assists from 26 league outings.
Slimani entered 2014/15 as the main man in attack for Sporting, and improved his goal output, netting 12 times in 21 league matches, and adding four assists. He also scored twice in six Champions League appearances.
It was only last season when Slimani emerged as a prolific goalscorer, though, scoring 27 goals in 33 league matches, while also totalling six assists.
Slimani made his international debut in a 3-0 win over Niger in May 2012, and has an impressive goal scoring record for his country, netting 23 times in 43 matches, including two goals at the 2014 World Cup.
The Prospects
With the additions of Ahmed Musa and Slimani this summer, Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri looks to have bought players to help ease the burden on Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, who scored a combined 41 of the Foxes 68 goals in the Premier League last season.
While that will undoubtedly help Leicester in their quest to challenge on multiple fronts, the issue from a Fantasy perspective is that we can expect to see plenty of rotation, with Ranieri this season likely to live up to his “Tinkerman” tag.
Given the significant outlay on Slimani, the Algerian will expect to play a prominent role, so it could be that Ranieri looks to operate with 4-4-2 more often this season, partnering Slimani and Vardy up front.
That would appear to make sense on paper at least. Standing at 6ft 2in tall, the Algerian isn’t the quickest and is more of a natural target man who can hold the ball up due to his strength. Crucially, he also possesses the high work-rate required from Ranieri’s charges.
Vardy could play off his strike partner, getting on the end of knock-downs with his electric pace, and making runs in behind the opposition defence.
Shinji Okazaki’s vital contribution to Leicester’s success last season can’t be forgotten, while the increase in central options could see Musa earn more pitch time on the flank at the expense of Marc Albrighton.
Vardy will surely remain the first choice striker, then, but the signing of Slimani could allow Ranieri to manage the England international’s minutes around Champions League matches.
Interestingly, Slimani has been priced at 8.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), 1.4 less than Vardy at 9.9, with Mahrez the other standout option among the Leicester attack available at 9.5.
With so many premium options in good form to start the season, and with Leicester’s fixture list (liv, BUR, mun, SOT, che, CPL, tot) pretty tough over the coming period, it’s unlikely many Fantasy managers will be prioritising a Foxes attacker at this point of the season.
In reality, that schedule, combined with the Champions League campaign getting under way later this month, should hand us the ideal opportunity to get an idea of Ranieri’s favoured tactics and personnel.
At present, there looks to be too much uncertainty surrounding Slimani, with the Algerian also expected to need time to settle into his new surroundings.
Vardy and Mahrez look to remain the key attacking targets at the King Power Stadium, then, with the issue of penalty duties likely to decide which is the superior option. After Mahrez failed to convert from the spot against Swansea last time out, his third miss from his last four penalties, it may be that Vardy takes Leicester’s next spot-kick.
So while Slimani’s arrival will hand Ranieri a different option in attack, the Algeria international may not feature on our radars too prominently during the opening months of his Leicester career.
