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Football

08th Feb 2018

Riyad Mahrez will play for Leicester if club promise summer exit

Should Leicester agree to this?

Robert Redmond

Riyad Mahrez has not trained for Leicester City since the club denied him a transfer deadline day move to Manchester City last week, but a compromise could soon be found.

Mahrez handed in a transfer request amid interest from City. The Premier League leaders made four bids for the Algerian forward, the last of which was worth £65m and included a player as part of the deal. However, Leicester rejected each offer, as they reportedly wanted a fee closer to £95m.

The club’s owners are understood to have raised their valuation following Philippe Coutinho’s £142m transfer to Barcelona and Virgil van Dijk’s £75m transfer to Liverpool.

Mahrez is said to be “depressed” that Leicester denied him a move to Pep Guardiola’s team. The forward has failed to show up to training, and will miss the match against City this weekend. Yet, according to a report in The Times, he is prepared to return to the squad if Leicester meet some demands.

According to the report:

  • Mahrez wants a guarantee from Leicester that he will be allowed leave this summer if City, or another club, try to sign him.
  • He wants Leicester to agree to a transfer release clause.

The report also claims that the Professional Footballers’ Association have offered to mediate the dispute between Mahrez and Leicester. The 26-year-old signed a new contract, which expires in 2020, after Leicester’s Premier League title-winning campaign in 2016. He was Player of the Year that season, two years after joining the club from Le Harve for just £320,000.

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