Newcastle Plotting January Loan Swoop for Leicester City Outcast Islam Slimani

Newcastle have made an approach to sign Leicester City's forgotten striker Islam Slimani on loan in the New Year, according to reports in the Chronicle.

The 29-year-old has failed to reach the heights of his powers that saw Leicester invest £29m from Sporting CP and is now Claude Puel's third choice forward. His current side would consider selling the brawny striker for a similar price, but the Magpies are more interested in a potential loan deal.

Considering Newcastle's fundamental issue is scoring goals on a regular basis, a move for Slimani would represent a shroud piece of business from the north-east outfit.

This campaign Slimani has struggled to break into the Leicester team, with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki and Kelechi Iheanacho all seemingly above him in Puel's pecking order. He has only made 30 league appearances, but has netted seven times in that period and is the club’s top scorer in this season’s Carabao Cup.

However, that's not to imply that Slimani cannot become an asset in the Premier League, possessing all the natural attributes to thrive under a side that give him a platform to play on a regular basis - possibly at Tyneside considering their absence of a quality talisman.

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If a deal is to prove fruitful for Benitez, City would want to recoup a sizeable chunk of the £29m club-record fee they paid to Sporting. It's difficult to see a move materialising otherwise, as a loan deal doesn't really have an up-side for them.