Leicester City striker hopes to return to his former club
Leicester City loanee Islam Slimani hopes to return to his former club Sporting CP one day.
The Algeria international is currently on a season-long loan at Fenerbahce, where he has scored just four times in 20 appearances – the kind of numbers that we have associated with him since he moved from Portugal.
While the 30-year old only has five months or so left (to suffer) with the Turkish outfit, he still has two years remaining (to suffer) on his contract at Leicester; however, it doesn’t seem like he is going to stay for that long at the King Power Stadium (to suffer) – if we go by his words.
In an interview with Portuguese publication O Jogo, he has revealed that he’d like to be back to Sporting some day.
"“Back [to Sporting]? Yes, why not? But, in this moment, I have a contract with Fenerbahçe. I’m going to honour that commitment,” Slimani said.“We will see at the end of the season what might happen. Now, I’m focused on Fenerbahçe. We’ll see… Never say never in football – of course one day I hope to return to Sporting.”"
Slimani has also been linked with a January move to Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham. It is understood that the Lillywhites boss is very willing to bring him in on a loan for the remainder of the season in order to boost his side’s survival hopes.
If true, then you can’t argue against the fact that Ranieri really loves Slimani. It was the Italian who made the centre-forward Leicester’s record signing in the summer of 2016, buying him for a figure of around £29 million. Today, we remember him as the club’s most expensive flop, with each of his 13 goals effectively costing Leicester a hefty £2.23 million.
It was the kind of return that made Claude Puel loan him out to Newcastle United but things got even worse for him with the Toons. He missed ten fixtures in total – seven because of a thigh injury and three because of a suspension. In the four games he played in, his only meaningful contribution was an assist against Arsenal.
Next. Claude Puel deserves more time at Leicester City. dark
How times change. When Slimani was signed from Sporting, he was expected to form a formidable partnership with Jamie Vardy, but he just couldn’t find that touch from his days in Portugal. He still hasn’t and probably won’t at this age.