Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez has reportedly (Mirror) requested his club to drop his transfer valuation to a more reasonable figure, as he is concerned that clubs may not be interested in signing him at the reported £50 million price. Tottenham and Arsenal are thought to be keen on signing the player (Telegraph), who won the PFA Player of the Year title only in the 2015-16 season. Even though he comes on the back of an extremely poor campaign with Leicester City, there is substantial interest now that he has come out with information about his potential departure from the club.
Mahrez said in a public statement (Independent) that he wanted to leave Leicester City in order to move on to bigger things, and that the decision was taken along with the Chairman last summer. There were intense rumours about Arsenal and Tottenham making a move for the winger last summer, but he ended up staying at the King Power Stadium.
Along with Mahrez, Leicester City also went through a disappointing campaign that saw Claudio Ranieri depart the club midway through the campaign. Even though the 26-year-old’s performance improved towards the end of the season, he still only finished with six goals and three assists in 36 league appearances. In comparison, he had come up with 17 goals and 11 assists in the previous campaign.
Leicester City are reportedly demanding around £40-50 million for the player, who was signed for just €400,000 from AC Le Havre. The player believes that a reasonable figure would be in the region of £30 million considering that he is 26 years old.
It remains to be seen if Leicester will drop their asking price, although it is highly unlikely with the players still having three years left on his contract. Even at more than £30 million, it would represent a new club transfer record for Spurs. However, we certainly need additions in several areas of the pitch – especially in the forward places – with the team having to aim for a trophy next season. Finishing second was a major improvement over the recent campaigns, and a trophy would be the next step in Tottenham’s move up the ladder.
