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13th May 2016

Leicester linked with two more strikers as they prepare for Champions League football

Double swoop?

Tom Victor

It’s amazing what the carrot of Champions League football can do for a player’s agent.

Leicester’s title win will see them go into next season’s competition as top seeds, giving them the best possible chance of progressing to the knockout stages.

And while their priority will be hanging on to the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, a couple of names have been linked with the club as they potentially look to bolster their attacking options.

Leicester have met the €30m (£23.6m) release clause for Sporting Clube striker Islam Slimani, according to A Bola, while Italian hotshot Gianluca Lapadula is also thought to be on the club’s radar.

Pescara Calcio v Vicenza Calcio - Serie B

Slimani, an Algerian team-mate of Mahrez, scored in this season’s Champions League play-off defeat to CSKA Moscow, and has netted 30 times for his club in 2015/16.

He also has an international goalscoring record of 23 goals in 43 appearances, including two at the 2014 World Cup.

Lapadula, who at 26 is 18 months younger than Slimani, has scored 24 goals this season for Serie B club Pescara.

Goal.com reports that Pescara’s club president has said Leicester are leading the race for the former Parma man, who has also attracted interest from Lazio and Napoli.