French Trio Keen on Leicester's Out-of-Favour Striker Islam Slimani
By Josh Sim
Leicester City striker Islam Slimani is attracting interest from Ligue 1, after an impressive loan spell in France.
The 32-year-old had a season-long stint at AS Monaco cut short as the 2019/20 campaign in France was curtailed. However, he impressed with nine goals and seven assists in his 18 league appearances.
According to France Football, both Marseille and Lille are interested in making summer moves the forward, while it's also said that Monaco - who previously opted against a permanent move - could reverse their decision, with former Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovač now replacing Robert Moreno as manager.
Lille are facing a difficult summer, with star forward Victor Osimhen set to join Napoli. Loïc Rémy was also tipped to leave the club, but his future remains uncertain, having recently failed a medical at Serie B champions Benevento.
The team's director of football Luís Campos is believed to be interested in Slimani as a replacement for Osimhen, having witnessed the veteran Algerian's goalscoring prowess throughout last season. Yet they will face competition for his signature, with heavyweights Marseille and Monaco also linked.
Having made a name for himself in Lisbon, scoring 57 goals in 111 appearances for Sporting CP, Leicester signed the Algerian for £28m in the summer of 2016 - a club-record fee at the time.
However, the forward has struggled to make an impact for the club, in the wake of their historic Premier League title.
Amid 13 goals in 46 games, he has been farmed out out on loan spells at Newcastle United and Fenerbahce, before his recently completed season in Ligue 1.
France Football reports that Leicester are happy to part ways with the striker, with a reduced fee of €8m understood to be enough to make the transfer happen.
