As per Mirror, Newcastle are mulling over signing out-of-favour Leicester City striker Islam Slimani, but they face stiff competition from Watford, whose boss Marco Silva wants to reunite with the Algeria international.
Slimani, 29, arrived the King Power Stadium from Sporting Lisbon last summer for £29million off the back of a campaign in which he netted 27 goals in 33 league games.
However, he has since struggled to force his way into Leicester’s XI, and it’s said the club are more than willing to release him should they get a bid in the region of the fees he arrived for.
That could be the major hurdle between Newcastle and their man, as the Saint James’ Park club have been short of transfer funds thus far.
Manager Rafa Benitez has bought 5 players this summer, all totaling £36.4million, and how exactly the club’s management would be willing to spend at least half of that on a targetman that scored just 7 topflight goals last term remains to be seen.
A lack of regular game time hindered Slimani from proving his true worth in the Premier League, and he remains a quality number 9 despite initially flopping.
Should he rediscover his Sporting Lisbon days’ form in front of goal, Newcastle can be rest assured of escaping relegation if they manage to get the Algerian.
Realistically, they just don’t have the chance should Leicester City’s asking price be above £25million.
