West Brom manager Tony Pulis has admitted his admiration for Leicester City’s Islam Slimani – a year after they made a £21m bid.
After a disappointing debut season in English football dogged by injury worries and a slower than expected adaption, it’s something of a surprise to learn that West Brom are still interested in Islam Slimani.
The Birmingham Mail reports that The Baggies have not been put off by the fact the Algerian, who cost Leicester City a club-record £30 million from Sporting Lisbon last summer, has scored just seven Premier League goals in 2016/17.
Though it must be taken into consideration that Slimani has started just 12 league games. In contrast, West Brom top scorer Salomon Rondon has exactly the same amount of goals but with 14 more starts under his belt this season.
And that, in itself, may explain why the Birmingham Mail claims Baggies boss Tony Pulis could launch a club-record £17 million bid this summer – albeit £3 million less than the fee West Brom were willing to pay last season.
‘Very good’
“We came out of it because we couldn’t afford it,” Pulis explained earlier in the week. “That was it. But he’s a good player and he scores goals – his goalscoring record is very good.”
The Welshman also claimed that the fact Leicester City could offer Champions League football made the difference. Next season, however, Slimani will have to make do with the bread and butter of the Premier League.
And, after struggling for starts since Craig Shakespeare replaced Claudio Ranieri, you wonder whether he even has a future at the King Power at all.
If so, West Brom will surely not be far away. Especially if The Foxes are ready to take a substantial hit on their record signing. And, if The Baggies are to push on towards the Europa League next season, their wealthy Chinese owners must back Pulis in the market.
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