It is no secret that Riyad Mahrez wants his way out of the King Power Stadium and he has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City since the January transfer window. The winger even went on a strike as Leicester City stayed firm on the deadline day in January and refused to sell the Algerian. But now, it seems that it will be impossible for the Foxes to keep hold of their star winger.
The Foxes are not letting him go for cheap as they have been demanding close to £80m for the Algerian, according to some reports. However, there are other reports doing the rounds that Claude Puel wants to include a player plus money deal for Mahrez. He wants to bring in Manchester City’s attacking midfielder Patrick Roberts who has spent close to one and a half year on loan in Scotland with Scottish giants Celtic.
He was brought in at Etihad in 2015 for a fee worth £11m and since then has failed to come anywhere near first team football with the Citizens. He has been doing well with the Hoops in the meantime and Leicester have been monitoring the Englishman’s situation.
The reports suggest that Pep Guardiola rates him highly but if he can help in securing Mahrez’s deal, City will let Roberts go. The Premier League holders rate him at around £15m and including him in the transfer deal will certainly reduce Leicester city’s asking price for Riyad Mahrez.
Roberts has gone on to represent England at various youth levels and he will like to play first-team football in England which will increase his chances to be picked for the senior team. He made 18 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops and managed one goal and five assists.
Claude Puel will have a lot of rebuilding to do next season as he will have huge boots to fill after their talismanic winger leaves the club. It’s being said that Puel wants to bring in young attacking players and Roberts certainly fits that bill.
The 21-year-old might not be an out and replacement for Mahrez but will certainly boost Puel’s options in the attacking half of the pitch. Leicester City has been heavily dependent on Mahrez to provide creative output upfront and they will need to find a new way to score and create goals. A money plus player deal will certainly be a win-win situation for all parties but only time will tell whether the deal will go through or not.
