Puel vows to make Mahrez smile

If Jose Mourinho thought he was close to completing his jig-saw, he must think again – and perhaps should have spent some money in the window. One player he was linked with is Lucas Moura, a brilliant Brazilian deemed expendable by PSG, who has ended up at Spurs for a chop-yer-hand-off £25m.

Yes, Daniel Levy has done it again. Like a little old lady waiting till the last day of the sale for the “must go” items, he’s shored up a thin Spurs squad for next to nothing.

Moura was also linked with Liverpool and just may remind them of what they missed at Anfield on Sunday. A mazy dribbler who can play behind the front three or on the wing, he is the nearest thing to Coutinho – and cost £120m less!

Spurs’ decisive move certainly put Arsenal’s shenanigans to shame. To be fair, they have removed a player who had become toxic for one who wanted to come – and isn’t half bad, either.

And they’ve managed to sort out a tangled threesome to reunite Henrikh Mkhitaryan with his old Dortmund partner, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a prolific scorer in the Bundesliga, for a relatively reasonable £56m.

They had to offload Olivier Giroud, much to Arsene Wenger’s reluctance, to swing it while Chelsea loaned Michy Batshuayi to Dortmund. A complicated deal and one not driven by the manager.

Aubameyang is not a Wenger type of player. He’s 28, troublesome and goes AWOL on and off the field at frequent intervals which is why Dortmund were glad to see the back of him.

But if he can find the net – and his chances of doing so have been boosted by assist king Mesut Ozil’s decision to stay – he could yet prolong the twilight of Wenger’s career.

The wheeling and dealing was not done by the Frenchman but by new Mr Fix-its in a further sign of his waning power. Arsenal are preparing a long goodbye.

Chelsea have done well to swap their Belgian misfit for the under-rated Giroud and have added a left-sided utility player in Emerson, but they are no longer shopping in Harrods – a sure sign the days of ‘money no object’ are over.

So, what to make of it? City have got a top defender but must wrap their attackers in cotton wool; United are still miles behind. Arsenal have gambled and may get lucky. Spurs and Chelsea have done shrewd business but must brace themselves for an onslaught on their stars from Real Madrid in the summer.

Liverpool? It sums up the window that the club that spent and received the most for individual players have the biggest question marks. You feel with all that cash, fans shouldn’t be biting their nails for the rest of the season. LEICESTER manager Claude Puel intends to do all he can to ensure that Riyad Mahrez (pix) comes back “with a smile” after the Algeria playmaker saw a potential move to runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City fall through yesterday’s transfer deadline day. With the Foxes desperate not to lose one of the stars of their shock 2015/16 Premier League title success, there were reports in the British press that Manchester City baulked at Leicester’s £96m (RM530m) valuation of Mahrez and walked away without submitting a bid. Mahrez was left out of the Leicester side beaten 2-1 at Everton and Puel said it had been a tricky situation for both the club and the player alike. “We receive at the last moment something about City and I think it was harsh for us. It was difficult also for Riyad,” said Puel. “We have to understand (all) parts: for me, for the squad, for the player. We will accept the decision, it was a de- cision taken be- tween the

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