Claudio Ranieri: 'Islam Slimani ready for Leicester City debut'

Claudio Ranieri has revealed than he intends to hand new signing Islam Slimani his first appearance as a Leicester City player at Anfield this weekend.

The 28-year-old completed a club-record switch to the Premier League champions from Sporting Lisbon last week to further bolster the Foxes' attacking ranks.

It was not known whether Slimani would be involved in City's trip to Merseyside to face Liverpool on Saturday, due to his international commitments with Algeria that has seen him so far fail to train with his new Leicester teammates.

Ranieri does expect the exciting forward to play a part, although doubts remain over some other players - including defensive midfielder Nampalys Mendy and versatile wideman Jeffrey Schlupp.

"Nampalys needs more or less one week. Schlupp is very, very close to coming back. [Kasper] Schmeichel is ready to play," he told reporters. "Nobody was injured [during the international break]. Everybody is in good condition.

"A lot of my players go around the world without playing but it's good. They recover a little more. Slimani arrives this evening or tomorrow. I didn't see him yet, but he's available for Saturday.

"He could play. We bought him because we believe in his ability. It's important he understand the Premier League. He cost a lot of money but if you see the market it's a crazy market."

Leicester picked up their first win of the campaign last time out when edging past Swansea City 2-1 in the East Midlands.