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The Player Involved In Man City And Leicester's Riyad Mahrez Discussions

The Player Involved In Man City And Leicester's Riyad Mahrez Discussions

The Algerian never got his move to Pep Guardiola's side on Deadline day.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez never got his desired move to Manchester City, with the two clubs not on the same page when it came to his valuation.

The Algerian handed a transfer request and went AWOL from the Leicester squad for the trip to Everton as he tried to finally force a move away from the King Power Stadium.

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But having seen the extortionate amounts thrown around in recent times, the Foxes were holding out for big bucks and reportedly wanted around £80 million for a player they bought for £400,000 from Le Havre in 2014.

City, having seen Leroy Sane ruled out for six or seven weeks, were looking to add another winger to the ranks but weren't prepared to pay what they deemed to be over the odds.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Thus, the runaway Premier League leaders attempted to explore the possibility of a cash-plus-player deal. With no word on who the player was, fans spent a fair bit of time trying to work out who that player was.

Eliaquim Mangala made sense but was on his way to Everton on loan at the time of City's offer and it was difficult to think of City being prepared to use any other player to land Mahrez.

However, as per the Daily Mail, Patrick Roberts, currently on loan at Celtic, was the player involved in the discussions.

The 20-year old was signed by City from Fulham for a reported £12 million in 2015 but has made just three appearances for the first-team.

According to the report from Laurie Whitwell, City's offer was £50 million plus Roberts, who is rated at around £15 million.

Image: PA
Image: PA

But it is also noted that although he's had to make do with getting experience with the SPFL leaders on loan, City value him highly and it was in fact Leicester who proposed including him in the transfer.

Still, nothing transpired, leaving City frustrated and leaving Mahrez "very depressed" according to a friend of the 2016 PFA Player of the Year.

Said to not be in the right of mind after a move was not sanctioned, Mahrez did not turn up for Leicester training duties on Thursday for the third day on the trot, and he is not expected to be involved in proceedings against Swansea at the weekend.

Mahrez, who has apparently been told he would be able to leave Leicester for four straight transfer windows, is set to be fined £200,000 for his no-shows.

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Topics: Manchester City, Football News, Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City, Football, Pep Guardiola, Transfers, Premier League