Leicester boss Claude Puel refuses to pick his team based on player transfer fees as record signing Islam Slimani continues to struggle for game time

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Leicester boss Claude Puel will not pick his team based on the price the club has paid for a player, with record signing Islam Slimani struggling for game time.

The Algeria international, a £29million arrival from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2016, has struggled for opportunities this season and has not started a match since the Carabao Cup tie against Leeds on October 24 - Michael Appleton's final game as caretaker manager.

Slimani has made just three substitute appearances during Puel's 11-game tenure, amounting to less than 15 minutes of action, and he has not been included in the last five match-day squads.

Claude Puel will not pick his team based on the price Leicester has paid for a player

Leicester host Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday evening and Jamie Vardy is expected to lead the hosts' attack, with Shinji Okazaki and Kelechi Iheanacho also ahead of Slimani in the pecking order.

'I don't put my team in place with the price of the player,' said Puel.

'For me, the most important thing is to see the training sessions to give an opportunity but we have a lot of players in the same position and with different profiles.

'We have one or two places in the team and six possibilities so it is difficult for some players to find some game time which can be frustrating and I understand their frustrations.'

Islam Slimani has struggled for minutes this season and has not started a match since October

Asked if he had spoken with Slimani about his predicament, Puel said: 'I speak all the time with different players, and Slimani also.

'When a player is not in the squad he is frustrated and this is normal. But to have a positive attitude all the time is the most important thing and he works in training a lot. The discussion was just between him and me but I tried to explain this.'

It remains to be seen whether Slimani will be involved against United as Puel will pick from the same group of players, with midfielder Wilfred Ndidi back in contention after missing the Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester City in midweek through suspension.

Jamie Vardy (pictured), Shinji Okazaki and Kelechi Iheanacho are all preferred to Slimani

Matty James and Robert Huth have been long-term absentees for Leicester but Puel thinks both players are close to making their comebacks. Midfielder James has been out since September with an Achilles problem while Huth has not featured at all this season following ankle surgery in the summer.

'For this game, they are not match fit but they make progress and they improve in the training sessions. Perhaps we see them in the near future. We will see in the new year for the next games,' said Puel.