West Ham United and Newcastle United are reportedly battling over Islam Slimani’s signature.
According to the Daily Mail, West Ham United have overtaken Newcastle United in the race to sign Leicester City striker Islam Slimani on deadline day.
The Hammers, who drew 1-1 at home to Crystal Palace on Tuesday night, have brought in just the one new face during the January transfer window, landing Joao Mario on loan from Inter Milan last week.
However, with injuries to Andy Carroll and Marko Arnautovic, as well as Diafra Sakho’s move to Rennes, manager David Moyes needs another striker, and that may well be a priority on deadline day.
The Daily Mail now report that West Ham lead the race to sign Leicester City striker Islam Slimani, and have overtaken Newcastle United in the battle for his signature today.
It’s claimed that talks have been held with Slimani’s representatives in a bid to secure a deal, and talks will continue today as Leicester look to sell the forward rather than loan him out.
Slimani, 29, has started just two Premier League games this season, scoring just the once as he has struggled to make any sort impact under Claude Puel, or his predecessor Craig Shakespeare.
The Algerian hitman did though hit 57 goals in 109 for Portuguese side Sporting, and Moyes may well feel that he can resurrect the target man’s career and get the best out of his aerial ability in the box.
The news may come as a major blow for Newcastle, who were hoping to bring in Slimani to boost their own attack on the final day of the transfer window, and the Magpies may now need to pull off something special to beat West Ham.
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