Andy King reveals why signing Slimani is good news for Jamie Vardy
By Jake Cursley
Leicester City veteran Andy King explains why club record signing Islam Slimani’s arrival is good news for striker Jamie Vardy.
The foxes spent €30m + an extra €5 in ad-ons to secure Islam Slimani’s signature, prying him away from life in Portugal, as he left Sporting Lisbon to join fellow countryman Riyad Mahrez at Leicester City.
Related Story: Leicester City: The foxes sign Slimani for €30m + €5m in ad-ons
Some fans suspect with former club record signing Ahmed Musa, that last season’s hero Jamie Vardy may soon find himself out of favour with manager Claudio Ranieri due to an abundance of options.
Andy King however, has another theory.
The 27 year old Welsh international believes that Slimani will be able to lift the burden of scoring goals from Jamie Vardy’s shoulders.
Many accused Leicester City of relying heavily upon Jamie Vardy for goals last season despite the fact that they comfortably put 4 past Swansea during Vardy’s ban following his red card against West Ham.
Speaking to the media on the subject of Slimani, King said:
"“Riyad Mahrez speaks very highly of him and he has a great goal record so hopefully he can be a big signing for us.”"
"“He could take some of the pressure off Vards. The more quality players we can have in the squad then it’s going to help everyone.”"
"“But I don’t think Vards feels the pressure. He’s off the mark now after people said he was in a drought – even after just two games without scoring.”"
"I’m sure if he can score one in every two or three games then he will be happy. He didn’t play for England last week so knowing him, I’m sure he will be chomping at the bit.”"
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Despite being called up to Sam Allardyce’s first England squad, Jamie Vardy didn’t appear during their World Cup Qualifying clash with Slovakia which saw Liverpool’s Adam Lallana clinch a last minute winner and his first goal for his country to secure the 3 points for England.
Another squad member that made the trip from the East Midlands was midfield leader Danny Drinkwater, who again, didn’t feature in Allardyce’s plans to break down a tightly packed Slovakian defence.
Leicester City face Liverpool away at Anfield this Saturday and many fans will be hoping that new record signing Islam Slimani will feature.
However, this begs the question of formations. Will Claudio Ranieri stick with his trusted 4-4-2 and try to accommodate both Vardy and Slimani, with Shinji Okazaki most likely being dropped?
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Ranieri is by no means afraid to bench big money signings, with Ahmed Musa featuring regularly as an option from the bench, often being a like-for-like replacement for Jamie Vardy.