Cornet: New signing Slimani will be good addition to Lyon

Maxwel Cornet believes the addition of Islam Slimani to Lyon will help the club in their quest to win the Ligue 1 title.

The Algeria international completed his permanent move to the Groupama Stadium outfit on Monday after leaving Premier League side Leicester City, signing an 18-month deal with the French club.

The centre-forward has been recruited as a direct replacement for Moussa Dembele, who moved to La Liga side Atletico Madrid.

Cornet is confident the 32-year-old will help the club achieve their target for the season and promised to help him settle into the team seamlessly. 

“We've seen very little of him so far, we'll get to know him more. He smiles a lot -- he's a nice guy, and I think he's going to do us good in the next few matches,” Cornet said in a pre-match conference.

“When you make a move in the middle of the season you know that the coach needs you, so your integration into the team happens faster and easier -- we'll make him feel comfortable."

Lyon currently lead the league table with 40 points from 19 games and the Ivory Coast international hopes they can maintain the impressive run of form.

"It's always nice to be at the top of the table, you just don't fall into winning matches, it is one after the other,” he continued.

“When we are not in first, we want to be and when we are there we want to remain so, it is up to us to give ourselves the means to continue doing what we are doing at the moment.

“We're all pulling in the same direction, we want to go and get back what we lost last season, if we can go even higher we will not try to avoid it. We must avoid defeat.

"We know that we are being challenged by big teams, when we are in trouble we must rely on every player because we do not want our good run to stop, to lose the lead in the standings -- all these elements allow us to come back. It shows the spirit of the group. From the medical staff to the coach, we are all focused in the locker room, we are all motivated.

“We want to continue this unbeaten run. We go out on the pitch hoping not to lose and I know we have the players to make the difference at all times."

Lyon will take on Metz in their next league game on Sunday at Groupama Stadium and Cornet is confident his side is fully committed to extending their winning streak in the encounter.

“We are 100% focused on Metz, we must not take this team lightly, it is up to us to put things together to make the match easy and go with confidence in Saint-Etienne,” he added.

“They have players who can make the difference at any time, who are challenging to play against."

Cornet has made 18 league appearances for Lyon this season, scoring one goal and providing three assists.