Leicester City forward Islam Slimani's agent has revealed how a quarter of Serie A turned down the chance to sign him for just €400,000 in January 2013.
Stefano Salvini says he offered the Algerian forward to five Serie A clubs, but none of them had any interest in a player who, at the time, was plying his trade in his home country. Six months later he joined Sporting Lisbon for just €300,000 and he was signed by Leicester this summer for a club record £29.7 million.
"It was January 2013 and Slimani was playing for Belouizdad," Salvini told tuttomercatoweb.com. "Anybody could see his enormous potential, even though he was just 24. At the time, he was in and out of the national team, but I decided to talk with his advisors.
"I found out that the Algerian club were insolvent and there was the chance to sign Slimani for around €400,000. I offered him to [Hellas] Verona, Torino, Sampdoria, Palermo and Chievo, but when you are playing for a mid or low-profile club, you don't even get considered in Italy.
"It's easy when a player is valued at a million, but what value are we talking about now for Slimani?"
The Algerian forward scored the winning goal for the Foxes in their home Champions League debut against Porto on Tuesday.