OPINION
Newcastle United fans are yet to see their club sign the new forward that they desperately lack so far this summer but at least Islam Slimani isn’t returning to St James Park anytime soon.
The Northern Echo reported on Friday that the Magpies had rejected the chance to re-sign the 30-year-old forward after his agent offered them the opportunity to acquire his services this summer.
The regional newspaper stated while that Rafa Benitez is determined to recruit a new attacker this summer, he was not interested in seeing his new recruit be Slimani.
It is now believed that Leicester City will loan the forward to Sporting Lisbon as the Foxes are unable to find anyone willing to meet his £25million price tag this summer.
While Magpies supporters are no doubt eagerly awaiting a new forward to arrive, they will breathe a sigh of relief upon learning that it is extremely unlikely to be Slimani.
The 30-year-old who spent the second half of the 2017/18 campaign on loan at the Magpies was a flop at the club and was unable to score in his brief time at St James Park.
The misfiring frontman failed to score in his four appearances for Benitez’s side and spent the majority of his time at the club in the medical room.
While it’s hard to judge a player who barely featured, Slimani showed no signs when wearing a Magpies shirt that he was the lethal finisher that the club were desperately lacking.
If the 30-year-old had been the new forward to rock up this summer then fans would have been rightly disappointed as he wouldn’t have been unable to fix the club’s issues in front of goal.
Therefore while the Magpies do need to sign a new prolific force this summer at least the hunt for a new forward hasn’t hit rock bottom just yet as the club have rejected the chance to welcome back Slimani.
