Everton, West Ham United and Newcastle United are all interested in Leicester City outcast Islam Slimani.
Everton made a mess of their attempts to replace Romelu Lukaku in the summer, bringing in the ageing Wayne Rooney and the unproven Sandro Ramirez. And with the January transfer window just over a month away, the Toffees cannot afford to waste another chance to find the prolific goal-scorer the club is crying out for.
But Islam Slimani falls snugly into the ‘high risk’ category. According to Algerian publication Le Beteur, Everton are battling both Newcastle United and West Ham United for a striker who has failed desperately to live up to his club-record price-tag at Leicester City.
Slimani cost the Foxes £29 million in 2016, as reported by the BBC, but the prolific form he showed at Sporting Lisbon has been conspicuous by its absence. Overall, Slimani netted just eight times last season and has fallen even further down the pecking order this.
The 29-year-old has started just one league game all season, featured for just 115 minutes, and has not scored a single goal. Most of his game-time has come in the EFL Cup.
Needless to say, then, he is hardly the proven Premier League goal-scorer that Everton fans are clamouring for.
Though Slimani could prove a much better fit for an Everton side needing a physical presence in attack rather than a counter-attacking Leicester side, The Toffees would be relying on plenty of ifs and buts if they invest their mid-season budget in a player who is yet to prove he is Premier League quality.
If Slimani cannot even force his way into Leicester’s first-team plans, could he really replace the talismanic Lukaku at Goodison Park?
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