Former Leicester City striker Islam Slimani is returning to Sporting Lisbon on a free transfer on an 18-month deal. Ligue 1 side Lyon terminated Slimani’s contract which freed him up to return to Portugal. This news was first reported by Santi Aouna and later confirmed by Fabrizio Romano.
Islam Slimani Returns to Sporting
Islam Slimani Had Previous Success at Sporting
Islam Slimani first rose to prominence while playing for Sporting from 2013 until 2016. Sporting initially signed him from Algerian side CR Belouizdad after hitting double figures in four successive seasons with the team. During his time with Sporting, he scored an impressive 57 goals in 109 games which made him a prime transfer target for a number of teams, including 31 in 44 appearances in 2015/16.
Wayward Years
Slimani was signed by Leicester for a club record fee in 2016 and failed to hit the ground running, in his first season he only managed to score a meager eight goals. The next season he appeared 18 times, scoring five goals. Leicester shipped him out on loan where he didn’t have much success until the 2019/20 season when he scored nine goals in 19 games for Monaco.
This stint with Monaco was enough to catch the eyes of Lyon who signed Islam Slimani following the departure of Moussa Dembele. Whatever form the Algerian had found for Monaco didn’t carry over to Lyon with the frontman netting just 8 goals in 37 games.
Return to Sporting
Now the 33-year-old is set to make a return to the last place he was successful as he rejoins Sporting on a free transfer. Sporting have sent a number of young strikers out on loan in this window and likely see the veteran Slimani as a solid choice to offer some depth and intelligence to their attacking line-up. The striker will be hoping to rediscover some of the form that once made him a top marksman.
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