Manchester City eyeing a January move for Riyad Mahrez
Manchester City are eyeing a January move for Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez as Pep Guardiola looks to add depth to his squad, as per Don Balon.
The Citizens currently sit at the top of the Premier League table with 34 points, eight points ahead of their nearest rivals, Manchester United, who have 26 points from their 12 fixtures so far. With Manchester City set to go big this season, Pep Guardiola doesn’t want to take any chances and is said to be looking for more options off the bench.
The Sky Blues offloaded a few players earlier this summer, one of which was Jesus Navas, who departed for Sevilla. City are yet to bring in a replacement for him, and it is now believed that Riyad Mahrez has emerged as one of their options, with the Algerian already looking to seal a move away from Leicester City.
Mahrez’s desire to leave is no secret after the 26-year old released a statement stating the same, virtually issuing a come-and-get-me plea. However, Leicester City remained stubborn all summer, refusing to sell for anything less than £50 million, a price tag that put off many of his suitors, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and FC Barcelona.
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AS Roma were the only club to have made a formal approach for Riyad Mahrez, but Leicester City rejected all four of their bids, the latest being somewhere around £38 million. Eventually, Mahrez had to stay against his wish at the King Power Stadium.
The 2015/16 player of the year began the season with the kind of lack of interest that you’d expect from a wantaway, but he has improved in the recent times, having had a direct hand in five goals in his last six games (two goals and three assists). His form has fuelled the fire yet again, and as a result, Manchester City have emerged as strong contenders to land him.
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Safe to say, were Pep Guardiola to come calling, it’d be a no-brainer for Riyad Mahrez, even if he only briefly warms the Etihad Stadium bench before moving to a smaller club.