Can Riyad Mahrez's Dream Manchester City Transfer Be Revived?

Riyad Mahrez is a broken man right now, his dreams of more top-level silverware on hold.

The Leicester City winger collected a Premier League winners medal two years ago and wants more success. He believes he has gone as far as he can with his current club and worked hard this season to put himself in the shop window. He knew the right transfer could lead to major honours within a matter of months.

Leicester could have no complaints with his form leading into the window. Mahrez has eight goals and eight assists from 24 Premier League appearances this term. Yes, he has been working towards landing himself a better future, but his club were benefitting along the way.

When Manchester City began to enquire about a January deal, it looked like another league title and even the Champions League trophy was coming into sight.

But on deadline day, his football fantasy fell apart, and now Leicester are left with a shattered and disappointed player who needs putting back together. 

How the City Deal Took Shape

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There was a matter of hours between City announcing that Leroy Sane's ankle injury would keep him out for six or seven weeks and gossip that they were on the lookout for a new wide player to boost their campaign.

Mahrez's name quickly emerged on the back of that search for a new forward, although sources at the club have told me he was already on their agenda before the Sane setback. An Alexis Sanchez alternative, if you will.

Whether or not that is true, with Gabriel Jesus also sidelined and the club still fighting on four fronts for trophies, it was obvious they might want to bulk up the attack, and Mahrez was readily available—or so they thought.

The player handed in a transfer request in the summer window as he pursued a future away from the King Power Stadium, and back then it was believed he would be available for around £50 million.

As a result, that's where City's enquiries began. But it quickly became obvious the goalposts had moved.

Leicester's Thai owners have seen how the market has been changing so rapidly, and the £75 million it took for Virgil van Dijk to join Liverpool gave them a new marker for how much their super Algerian should be worth.

Not only is he a rare breed of attacker, he is only 26 and has a resale value that is seen as so important in the modern game.

Chasing His Dream

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After failing to see a transfer materialise in the summer, Mahrez was not just going to sit back and hope for the best in January's trading season.

A couple of months back, he took the decision to switch representation, and as a result, superagent Kia Joorabchian has been working on his behalf.

Joorabchian, who helped another client in Philippe Coutinho make a dream transfer last month, is capable of making big things possible.

Mahrez himself knew the club did not want him to leave, but he also felt they understood his situation. As far as he was concerned, there was an unspoken agreement that he would be allowed to move to a Champions League club if a good offer was on the table.

He was unimpressed when it became clear this was not the case. For the second time inside a year, he handed in a transfer request.

Leicester were setting the bar at around £90 million for his signature.

Frustration Sets In

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As the hours ticked down on deadline day, Mahrez is believed to have become more irritated that his dream was fading. City made three separate enquiries and had been willing to pay as much as £65 million to take him to Manchester.

For Leicester, it was not going to prove enough. The club's owners were concerned not just about losing Mahrez, but replacing him. They did not have long to bring in an adequate signing, and City could not provide them with a player deemed good enough to include in any deal. 

One source explained: "His desperation to get out of the club and join City was obvious, and it would have become a reality if his valuation had been reached. His frustration is understandable because it is not his fault that the market has hit such high figures recently, but the club has to protect itself."

Late on Wednesday afternoon, City pulled back from the deal. They were no longer willing to take part in an auction, particularly as they were the only club pursuing him. 

Looking to the Future

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Leicester now have the job of getting back on good terms with Mahrez.

There will be clear-the-air talks, frank discussions, fresh promises. But the club's best-case scenario now is that he gives his all for the rest of the season before leaving in the summer.

"I believe I will get to the top," Mahrez said in an interview with Ian Herbert from the Daily Mail in December. Mahrez is quiet and modest, but his drive will eventually ensure he gets his move. 

After two windows spent trying to earn a move away, the player has an urge to test himself on a bigger stage.

Sources close to City say he will remain on the radar and that the move could still happen. There is even a belief at the club that £65 million may yet prove enough to get him. 

Perhaps Mahrez's main concern should be that they are also being linked with Eden Hazard of Chelsea though, and the prospect of them spending over £100 million on the right player next summer does not seem out of reach.

Mahrez has to keep creating chances, keep scoring goals and hope the biggest moment of his career has not just passed him by.