Things appear to be going from bad to worse for Leicester as Riyad Mahrez has reportedly rejected a new deal at the club and has told his agent to begin the process of finding him a new club on the same day that N'Golo Kante's transfer to Chelsea has all but been confirmed.
Mahrez was vital in Leicester's Premier League winning tilt last season as his teammates Jamie Vardy and N'Golo Kante made up a triumvirate of players that most teams in the world would have jumped at the chance of signing.
That has proven to be the case as Arsenal swooped in a failed bid to sign Vardy earlier in the summer while Kante appears to be heading for Stamford Bridge. Mahrez, it seems, is intent on finding a new club too as he assesses his options.
The Algerian was signed from Le Havre in 2014 as an unknown entity for just €500,000 but set himself apart from other attacking midfielders last season with 17 goals and 11 assists for Claudio Ranieri's side.
He is reportedly on €40,000 a week at present and has been offered a new contract which would be closer to €95,000 but he has turned that down according to reports. His current deal runs until June 2019.
“He remains with us. He’s not the kind of man who will say: ‘Coach I want to leave.’ He is happy here,” said Ranieri recently as the club trains in Austria.
His agent, Kamel Bengougam, said in May that there was a possibility he would leave the Premier League champions in the summer, “When you have been playing the way Riyad has this season it is bound to attract attention,
“He is very happy with Leicester and of course it has been a fantastic season. They will play in the Champions League next year as well, so he would be happy to stay.
“But at his age, if the opportunity comes to play for a big team, then we would have to think about it. I’d say it’s 50/50 at the moment whether he stays or goes.”
Mahrez is 25 and the news of him rejecting Leicester's attempts to keep him at the club will cause plenty of other Champions League clubs to consider their options and the possibility of bringing in the reigning PFA Player of the Year.
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