According to a recent report by Goal, reigning Premier League champions Manchester City are said to be willing to sell Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez in the summer, with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain claimed to be keen on his services. The report suggests that the Citizens would not stand in the way of a move, but that they would insist on receiving at least £80m to initiate the transfer.
Goal’s Manchester City correspondent has further claimed that Pep Guardiola will not keep any player that doesn’t want to stay at the club, and that Paris would be a ‘natural place’ for a player like Mahrez to be linked with. It is also suggested that the City squad has been reassured that they will be playing European football next season despite the ban and that the club have no intention of offloading their key players.
What Does Riyad Mahrez Offer To Manchester City On The Flanks?
The Algerian trickster is one of the deadliest wingers in the Premier League, largely because of his stellar dribbling and ball-carrying abilities. Adept to taking defenders on and beating them with either skill or speed, the former Leicester City man is the quintessential modern-day winger as he tends to deliver quality into the box from wide as well. Moreover, the sheer finesse that the Algerian possesses simply cannot be put into words.
Supremely composed under pressure, the winger has quite a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and he can change a match in a single moment of brilliance. One of the Manchester City man’s trademark moves in the Premier League is the right-foot cut-back to left-foot finish. It’s almost as if most of the goalkeepers in the league give up as soon as the Algerian takes up the position required to curl the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area.
Why Letting Him Go Could Be A Massive Blunder By Pep?
The winger was acquired by Leicester City from French second division club Le Havre, after which he’s gone on to become one of the Premier League’s most household names. With seven goals and ten assists to his game from 23 league appearances this season, the Algerian has proven on multiple occasions in the past that he can be a game-changer.
Manchester City’s season wasn’t one filled with high-quality performances all through, and despite their ability to score goals at will, there have been fixtures along the way where Pep Guardiola’s squad has been found lacking. Leroy Sané is returning from an extremely long spell on the sidelines, while Raheem Sterling’s end-product just seems to have dried up a bit. In the predicament that the Citizens currently find themselves in, Mahrez could be an essential tool in catching up with Liverpool, and selling him in the summer would be a disaster.
