Manchester City saga now behind focused Riyad Mahrez
The Manchester City transfer saga is now behind “focused” again Riyad Mahrez.
The 26-year old was the subject of multiple bids from the Citizens around the Deadline Day. Leicester City, however, rebuffed any approach for the winger, as he went AWOL, and therefore staying out of action for about two weeks.
But Riyad Mahrez is back and he’s back to his best at Leicester City again. The Algerian scored a sumptuous free-kick last week to earn his side a vital point against AFC Bournemouth at the 97th minute before he ran in jubilation to celebrate with the staff and his teammates.
Does the saga still affect him, though? According to Mahrez himself, it doesn’t. He also maintained that he had always been in contact with the club and only needed some time away to get his head back into the game.
"“I was away from here because I needed some time to think, it was a difficult situation,” Mahrez told Sky Sports News.“Manchester City is a good move for everyone but it is the past. It is behind me. If we start talking about this it’s like coming back to the transfer window and now I’m moving forward, trying to give my best for the team.“You’ll always have regrets but at that time I thought it was the best thing to do.“It was difficult, I’ve always been in contact with the club. The club handled it very well. When the team-mates and the club were behind me it was OK, it was very easy to come back here.”"
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Riyad Mahrez still hasn’t ruled out a summer move, insisting that this is how the sport goes – players come and players leave – but at the moment, he is a Leicester City player.
"“In football players come, players leave, I’m not saying I’m coming or going,” he added.“We always talk between me and the club, everything is good, so we will see in the summer if things come. At the moment I’m a Leicester player.”"
He may be a Leicester City player for now, but it most definitely won’t stay that way when the summer is finally here, which is a scary thought.
No one can doubt that Riyad Mahrez offers much more in attack than any other Leicester player. The Foxes are heavily reliant on him for producing the goods, so when he’d finally leave, there’d be a huge void left behind.
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Hatem Ben Arfa and Thorgan Hazard have both been touted as Mahrez’s potential replacements.