Newcastle United and West Ham United will have to buy Leicester City’s Islam Slimani outright if they want him.
According to The Daily Mail, Leicester City are willing to let Islam Slimani join a Premier League rival this month amid interest from Newcastle United and West Ham United – but only if it’s a permanent move.
The 29-year-old has been regularly linked with a move to Newcastle for much of the window but, with 13 hours left before the deadline, time is of the essence for Rafael Benitez and the Magpies.
And The Daily Mail’s Transfer Blog (update posted at 09:01) has claimed that Slimani is available if Benitez wants him, but the Spanish manager would have to cough up a permanent transfer fee for him.
Time will tell whether cash-strapped United can meet Leicester’s condition.
But Slimani cost the Foxes a cool £29 million 18 months ago and even though he has struggled at the King Power, City are going to want to recoup as much of that as possible.
That isn’t great news for Newcastle because logically they would have to spend the bulk of whatever budget they have on the forward, who has eight goals in 35 Premier League games, so it’s a big risk.
Benitez has competition in the form of West Ham United, who would presumably also have to buy him outright, and a few clubs on the continent, whom Leicester would be willing to loan to.
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