- Tweeter
republish
The AS Monaco has formalized this Wednesday, August 21 the loan with option to purchase Islam Slimani, from Leicester, for the season 2019-2020. The Algerian international striker comes out of three mixed seasons in England and Fenerbahce in Turkey, where he was already loaned last season. With the club of the Principality, he meets Leonardo Jardim, a coach he knew in Portugal at the time when he shone more.
After the return of Senegalese Keïta Baldé and the signatures of Portugal's Gelson Martins (final transfer), Nigerian Henry Onyekuru and Frenchman Wissam Ben Yedder, AS Monaco has a new arrival in the offensive sector. The Principality's club has agreed with Leicester City for the option loan with Islam Slimani.
In recent days, rumors more or less serious reported interest Red and White for the Argentinian Inter Milan, Mauro Icardi. Wanda Nara, the companion and agent of the scorer, quickly denied. And Monaco, red lantern of Ligue 1 after two days and two slaps undergone (0-3 against Lyon, 0-3 on the ground of the promoted Metz), will try to rebound with Islam Slimani.
🔴⚪️ AS Monaco is pleased to announce the one-season loan with purchase option @ slimaniislam from Leicester.
📄👉 https://t.co/a2awFEzhOH pic.twitter.com/dadWhg8slH
Reunion with Jardim
At 31, the 2019 African champion arrives with almost the same desire: he too is looking for a second wind. For now three seasons that we did not see the Slimani who put the goals like pearls in Portugal . When he arrived in Europe in 2013, the Algerian international settled at Sporting Lisbon. His first coach in the Portuguese capital was ... a Leonardo Jardim, now in Monaco and the main architect of his come on loan, according to L'Equipe.
In three seasons with the Lisbonists, Islam Slimani has become known in Europe. Especially during his last year at Sporting Lisbon, during which he scored 31 goals in all competitions. Performance that drove Leicester City, surprising and magnificent champion of England, has paid 35 million euros to focus its services in August 2016.
Has struggled for three years, Slimani needs to revive (like ASM)
But among the Foxes, the Algerian has not found his place. In the shadow of Jamie Vardy and his compatriot Riyad Mahrez , he was unable to make himself indispensable. His Portuguese performances did not have an echo in the Premier League. In 2016-2017, he found the net only 9 times in all competitions. It was worse the following season with only 5 goals, and on top of that a thigh injury that deprived him of competition for more than a month. Most wanted in Leicester, he was sent last summer on loan in Turkey, Fenerbahçe : same failure, with only once again 5 achievements.
Despite being held back by Djamel Belmadi for the CAN 2019 , he remained above all on the substitutes' bench, the Youcef Belaïli-Baghdad Bounedjah pair being irreproachable. Slimani only played the third pool match against Tanzania (3-0, one goal and two assists for him), a quarter-final match against Ivory Coast (1-1, 4 shots at goal to 3, including one transformed by the attacker), and the last moments of the final against Senegal (1-0).
In search of the superb level he displayed three years ago, Islam Slimani arrives in Ligue 1 with a personal challenge to meet in addition to a collective challenge. Under the leadership of Jardim, the Fennec may find his football. He will not have much time for that, because his new club, a bit like him, is in crisis and needs fast results.