- The Algeria striker signed for Leicester City from Sporting Lisbon on Transfer Deadline Day
- Slimani reveals that he kept close tabs on Leicester City’s progress in the last campaign
- The 28-year-old says the Foxes are now the most supported team in Algeria thanks to last season’s success
New signing Islam Slimani knows what to expect from his new team-mates after revealing that he watched nearly every game Leicester City played last season.
Slimani was a deadline day addition from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon and is an international team-mate of Riyad Mahrez for Algeria – part of the reason for his interest in the Foxes last term.
The 28-year-old’s goalscoring exploits in Portugal attracted interest from a host of big names across Europe, but it was the Foxes who managed to secure the signature of a man who scored 27 times in 33 league games in 2015/16.
And while joining the Premier League champions was exciting enough, Slimani also believes that he has joined the most supported English team in Algeria.
Speaking to LCFC TV Slimani said: “My dear friend Riyad Mahrez spoke to me lots of times about the Club and how good a Club it was.
“The idea of playing together [with Riyad] again is great for both of us, not only at a national team level but at a club level. That’s great for our national team as well. I watched almost every game last year that Leicester played.
“As everyone knows, Leicester City are the Premier League champions – the champions of England. For me, it was a Club where I could come and become an even better player and also contribute a lot to the defence of the title.
“Leicester City is without doubt the most supported club in Algeria now thanks to Riyad Mahrez and his participation at the Club. It (winning the Premier League) was a big story and what it also showed was that anything can happen in football. That caught everyone’s eye.”