West Ham Reportedly Facing Little Opposition in Pursuit of Leicester City Striker

West Ham United have been made firm favourites to sign Leicester City striker Islam Slimani, according to reports.

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The Algerian international spent the second half of last season on loan at Newcastle United, however managed just four appearances during that time, and it looks as though he will soon become surplus to requirements with his parent club also.

In recent weeks, Slimani has been linked with a move back to Portuguese side Sporting, whom he joined the Foxes from. However, due to having insufficient funds to sign the striker permanently, Sporting were relying on a loan deal for the 29-year-old in which Leicester would contribute to his wages.

Unfortunately for them, according to Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã (via Sport Witness) West Ham's interest in signing the striker permanently may end Sporting's chances of signing him. Due to the fact that West Ham wouldn't require help with paying the player's wages, the report states that Leicester would prefer a deal with the Hammers instead.

West Ham will be in the market for a striker with Marko Arnautovic being their only player to have scored more than 10 goals last season. and despite having not performed as well as he'd have hoped, Slimani has a good scoring record with Leicester.

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Since his move to the King Power Stadium in 2016 for €30m, the striker has scored 12 goals in 47 appearances for the Foxes - eight of which have come in the Premier League. West Ham fans will be keen to see some signings this summer as the club look to distance themselves from any potential relegation battle next season.