A poor performance on his full Newcastle United debut could well cost Islam Slimani this summer.
Rafa Benitez said in the build-up to the match at Everton that some Newcastle United stars were playing for their future.
And he even named loan forward Islam Slimani as one of those; the Leicester City man having made only two prior substitute appearances.
“Some players are playing for their futures,” he said, as reported by the Chronicle. “Some of them will finish their contract and others will finish their loans – we can talk about [Martin] Dubravka, Kenedy and Slimani.”
Therefore it was encouraging for Slimani to be given a start at Goodison Park as he looks to make his mark at Newcastle in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Unfortunately, his performance was rather underwhelming.
Slimani’s touch was a little off in the first half, while his only real opportunity was snatched away when Ayoze Perez misplaced a simple pass in the final third.
There must have been frustration for the Algeria international as he watched Perez and substitute Dwight Gayle squander chances late in the game.
But Slimani has passed the point where he can afford such an anonymous display, regardless of the circumstances, if he is to win a long-term future at St James’ Park.
With just four games of the season remaining, he must deliver in each and every match to have any chance of staying on Tyneside.
His chances seemed slim even when he joined the club with an injury late in January but, despite two promising substitute displays, Slimani’s odds have widened further.
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