It's been no mystery that Chelsea are on the look-out for a new striker this month, the London club has been heavily linked with strikers all over Europe in a bid to add a new dimension to their attack.
You can now add another name to the list of strikers Chelsea have been linked with recently, as on Wednesday night Leicester's Algerian striker Islam Slimani dropped a hint that he could be on his way to Stamford Bridge.
The 28-year-old striker only added fuel to the speculation regarding his future when he attended Chelsea's Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal; a trip which he documented on his Instagram account, suggesting that a transfer to Stamford Bridge is imminent.
Leicester signed Slimani for a club record transfer fee of £29m back in 2016 but hopes he would emulate the success of fellow Foxes striker Jamie Vardy have fallen short of the mark.
Starting just the one time for Leicester this season, it appears his time at the King Power Stadium may be coming to an end.
? Andy Carroll
? Peter Crouch
? Ashley Barnes
? Edin Dzeko
? Islam SlimaniPredict who will be next on the striker target list for Chelsea. Comment below ? pic.twitter.com/D0FpiNWgkP
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) January 23, 2018
Furthermore, Leicester boss Claude Puel suggested the former Sporting CP man may not be a Leicester player come the end of the month.
He said, "For Slimani, I cannot give all the ties about an individual player."
Nevertheless the Algerian international isn't short of potential suitors, with Monaco reportedly also trying to tempt the striker to Ligue 1.
Understand Leicester would prefer to sell Islam Slimani but are negotiating with Monaco over loan fee - they want €3m, French club offering €1.5m. Slimani prefers move to PL club but Leicester will only sell (not loan) in that case. Monaco most likely if clubs reach agreement.
— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) January 24, 2018
The Algerian international has scored 13 goals for the Foxes in 46 appearances since his arrival, but has failed to hold down a starting position due to the good form of Shinji Okazaki and Jamie Vardy.
After watching Chelsea's game from the stands last night, however, a move to Stamford Bridge now looks inevitable for Slimani, and if he could rediscover the form that saw him catapulted from Sporting CP to the Premier League back in 2016, he would be a welcome addition to Antonio Conte's side.
- 90Min