Can new striker Islam Slimani keep Newcastle United up?
- Feb 2, 2018
- 2 min read
Newcastle fans have been long-time crying out for a solid goal-scorer. The Magpies have only scored 22 goals in 24 Premier League games this season so far.
Could deadline-day signing Islam Slimani be the answer to their prayers? Statistically, Slimani looks like a good buy for the Magpies.
The Algerian striker bolsters an impressive international record, with 27 goals in 56 games for his country. Competition at Leicester with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Okazaki and Iheanacho has meant playing time has been limited for the striker.
But when handed a starting place, Slimani has impressed with 8 goals from 15 appearances.
Compare that to current strikers Dwight Gayle and Joselu, who together have only managed 8 goals between them, surely Slimani is a solid addition?
Slimani himself has promised to deliver goals to the struggling Newcastle side.
When asked by NUFCTV what qualities he thought he would bring to the Newcastle side, Slimani said:
“I think I’m a goal-scorer. That is what this team needs - it needs more goals, and that is what I’ll try to do in my time here; score as many goals as I possibly can.
“Competition exists in any team you play for and having good, healthy competition is great for the team and also for the players individually, so I think it’ll be a good thing for me and the club."
Manager Rafa Benitez is hopeful that Slimani can offer something different for the Magpies:
"Slimani is a player with Premier League experience. He is a player who can fight with defenders, challenge, and score goals. Hopefully he can give us some experience and some different characteristics to the strikers we have at the moment."
Time will only tell if Slimani can help keep Newcastle United in the Premier League, but one thing that is for sure is Newcastle need him scoring goals immediately.
Credit to Getty Images and The Sun for the imagery used in this article.
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