By Ewah Chika.
Jamie Vardy might have scored 24 league goals for Leicester City last season as the Midlands club won the Premier League yet done nothing to discourage Italian manager Claudio Ranieri from breaking the club's transfer record following the deadline signing of Algerian Islam Slimani for £29 million from Portuguese Primeira Liga Club Sporting Lisbon this summer.
The reason for that might not be far fetched as the Algerian was so important to Ranieri's plans that Leicester had to return with an improved £29 million a few days after their initial £25 million was rejected by the Portuguese club.
At 6ft 2in, the Algerian is perfect in the air which will suit Ranieri's team considering the quality of wingers at the club (Riyad Mahrez and Mark Albrington). Leicester have been poor in attack this season scoring only three goals and garnering four points in three games against the likes of Hull City, Arsenal and Swansea which is far from what is expected of a club that intends to retain it's title. This might have made the signing of the Algerian imperative considering his goalscoring record of 31 goals in 43 games in all completions for Sporting Lisbon last season.
Slimani is popularly known as the "Dragon Slayer" as a result of his perfect goal scoring form against rivals FC Porto (six goals in six games) during his time at the club . The forward is In his prime (28) and though a late developer, he has all the attributes to succeed in Leicester. The Algerian can play as a lone striker in the absence of cult hero Jamie Vardy considering his perfect back to the goal attributes or also play slightly behind Vardy in a traditional 4-4-2 formation which has been extensively used by Ranieri during his time at the club. To this end if the Algerian plays in attack with Vardy, the likes of new recruit Ahmed Musa, Okazaki, and Argentine Leonardo Ulloa will start on the bench waiting for their time to make impact when called upon. Slimani is also highly committed, hard-grafting, headstrong with a strong work ethic which will bring the grit needed to beat defensive minded teams set up to frustrate Claudio Ranieri's team.
"I will give absolutely everything I have on the pitch for Leicester City fans and my team-mates and I hope that together we can achieve something special," Slimani said on his unveiling as a Leicester City player .
The Algerian is a winner having won the Taca de Portugal with Sporting after beating Braga on penalties in 2015. Slimani will be departing Sporting having scored 48 goals in 82 league games after replacing Colombian Fredy Montero in the starting eleven in his debut season.
On the international stage, the Algerian is not doing badly having scored 23 goals in 43 games for the Desert Foxes, after exploding during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where he scored against both South Korea and Russia before Algeria's elimination by Germany in the second round.
However even with all these positive attributes, one big problem with the striker is the fact that like most determined and passionate players, Slimani has a history of falling out with his managers. This happened as recent as March in a league game against Arouca, Slimani confronted Jorge Jesus (coach) after the striker was substituted after a 60 minutes play. Consequently to deter and chasten him, Jesus benched benched him in subsequent games until the matter was resolved and the Algerian delivered by scoring six goals in five games after his reinstatement in the starting eleven . In England , Slimani will do his career good by guarding his tongue and outbursts as his regular cursing of match officials will see him cautioned and even sent-off considering the new anti-dissent policy in the Premier League.
For now, Leicester City have not only signed a goalscorer, they have also fortified their attack and are now more dangerous this season compared to their last season's over-reliance on Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez.
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