Leicester City striker Islam Slimani has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur tried to sign him during the January transfer window, with Jose Mourinho even phoning him to convince him to come to North London.
Slimani was prolific during his time at Sporting Lisbon but his career has gone downhill since his move to Leicester City in 2016.
After failing to make the expected impact at the King Power Stadium, the striker had unsuccessful loan spells at Newcastle and Fenerbahce, before a relatively decent spell at Monaco last season.
Spurs were on the lookout for a striker during the January transfer window as Harry Kane was out with a hamstring injury and Slimani was one of the names who was rumoured to be on the club’s radar (Daily Mail).
The Algerian international, who is still on Leicester’s books, has now revealed that the Lilywhites were indeed after him and admitted that it was a boost to his confidence to learn that Mourinho wanted to sign him.
Speaking to France Football (as relayed by Sportslens), the 32-year-old said: “In the space of six months, I went from the nightmare at Fenerbahçe to a phone call from Jose Mourinho who wanted to sign me.
“It shows that I worked well. Knowing that your profile is appreciated gives you strength and confidence.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The fact that we were seemingly going after strikers like Slimani, Vedat Muriqi and Christian Benteke in January shows how desperate Jose was to bring in a striker after Kane’s injury. In hindsight, the club will be pleased that they decided not to jump into the market and waited until the summer to get someone like Carlos Vinicius in.
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