Riyad Mahrez Transfer Rumours: Latest News and Speculation on Leicester Star

Rory MarsdenJul 19, 2016

Manchester City are reportedly preparing a bid for Leicester City winger and 2016 Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez.

Continue for updates.

Ranieri Confident over Mahrez

Wednesday, July 20

"Yes, he wants to stay," responded Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri when questioned about the future of his star player, per Mark Crellin of Sky Sports.

City Linked with Mahrez

Tuesday, July 19

The Sky Blues will make a "formal offer" for Mahrez in the coming days, according to Nabil Djellit of France Football (via Get French Football News).

"Barcelona are the other side who seem most likely to act on their interest for the player at this stage, with Mahrez corresponding perfectly as a fourth weapon for the Catalan giants behind [Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi]," added the report.

Mahrez, 25, reportedly wants a guaranteed first-team spot if he is to move away from the Foxes—unlikely at Barca, considering the presence of Messi, Neymar and Suarez—and Leicester would "concede" to selling him for around €40 million (£33.6 million).

The Telegraph's John Percy recently reported that the Foxes would actually demand upward of £45 million to sell the Algeria international, but they are also "confident" he will opt to stay at the King Power Stadium.

Mahrez Key to Sustained Leicester Success

The Premier League champions have already lost N'Golo Kante to Chelsea and will be loath to see Mahrez leave as well—especially to an English club—after he netted 17 goals and provided 11 assists as Leicester triumphed last term, per WhoScored.com.

However, with City involved, Leicester may well be presented with a tempting offer, given the financial standing of the Manchester outfit.

Equally, Mahrez could be drawn by the prospect of working under manager Pep Guardiola and fighting consistently for domestic and European titles.

Stoke City's Charlie Adam recently suggested that Mahrez would be better off moving away from Leicester, as his prospects will be better, per BBC Radio 5 live Sport:

It does seem unlikely that the Foxes will be able to repeat their extraordinary 2015-16 title win in the coming seasons, while City and Barcelona are all but guaranteed to be competing for silverware, a situation which could sway Mahrez when deciding on his future.