Rich pickings so distracting

MARCO SILVA admits Richarlison has been distracted by interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.

Watford’s 20-year-old forward has not scored in two months and Silva wants to help the Brazilian handle the mental aspect of a difficult few weeks.

“What we can do is be smart with him and take care of him,” said Silva ahead of today’s match at Leicester. “I don’t want to put all the pressure on him. He had a fantastic impact on Watford and in the Premier League when he arrived.

“Everybody was talking about him, and Arsenal, Chelsea and all these things are normal in one professional career.

“We need to support him because he’s a boy and he needs to understand during one season everything can happen.”

Leicester manager Claude Puel has similar issues around Riyad Mahrez but claims that the winger will not leave this month. The 26-year-old has been linked with moves to Arsenal and Liverpool, but Puel said: “He is enjoying playing for Leicester with his team-mates.

“This is the most important thing – we have this good feeling that the player wants to stay. It is important for us to keep a good feeling with our player.”

Puel handed Mahrez the captain’s armband for their FA Cup third-round replay against Fleetwood this week and has been delighted with his attitude. “You can see in his game – he’s enjoying it. He was captain in the last game and a good one.”

At least one forward will leave this month, with Islam Slimani linked with Besiktas as a replacement for Cenk Tosun. “We have six strikers. It will be important in this window to find a good balance,” added Puel. RICHARLISON