Mahrez sulks as City dream ends
ALGERIAN WINGER HAS NOT TRAINED SINCE Manager Puel still optimistic he will return to action soon.
Riyad Mahrez’s career is at a crossroads. With his dream move to Manchester City in ruins, Leicester City boss Claude Puel faces a major challenge to get his star player back and performing.
The Algerian winger was missing for the 1-1 draw against Swansea City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, having not trained since the Premier League leaders walked away from the negotiating table due to Leicester’s astronomical demands.
Despite a second transfer request from the player in eight months, Leicester reportedly held out for a deal worth £80 million, with even City’s cash-rich Abu Dhabi owners unwilling to go beyond £60 million.
Mahrez, 26, is unhappy that Leicester were determined to secure such a huge profit on a player they bought for a reported £350 000 from French second-division side Le Havre in 2014 and who played a pivotal role in the club’s 2015/16 title triumph.
He was crowned Players’ Player-of-the-Year during Leicester’s remarkable campaign, scoring 17 Premier League goals, and then signed a four-year deal to help lead their Champions League charge.
Mahrez netted four times in the Champions League as Leicester again surpassed expectations as England’s last side standing before narrowly losing out 2-1 on aggregate to Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals.
Adding to Mahrez’s ire is that other heroes of Leicester’s title-winning triumph – N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater – have been allowed to leave for Chelsea with far less resistance.
And with City seemingly encouraged to make a move by injuries to Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus, there is no guarantee the runaway Premier League leaders will come calling again in the summer.
“I am fiercely ambitious and feel now is the time to move on to a new experience,” Mahrez said at the end of last season as he tried to force his way out.
Instead, he has again led a Leicester revival this season under Puel following Craig Shakespeare’s sacking in October, scoring nine times in his past 20 outings.
Puel remains optimistic, saying Mahrez will return to the fold.
“He is our friend and I think all the staff and all the players will help him to come back with a good mentality and a positive attitude and to enjoy his football with his team-mates,” he said. – AFP