adminLONDON. — Riyad Mahrez has accepted he will not be allowed to leave Leicester City this month after talks between his representatives and the English Premier League champions’ director of football on Wednesday. Last season’s PFA Player of the Year expressed his desire to move last month after turning down a new contract worth around £80 000 a week.Yet Leicester’s owners, having sold N’Golo Kanté to Chelsea and persuaded Jamie Vardy to reject a transfer to Arsenal, were adamant Mahrez would not be allowed to depart despite interest from several clubs in the Premier League and overseas.
The director of football, Jon Rudkin, met the Algerian international’s agent on Wednesday to underline that point, with Leicester not willing to entertain any bids for Mahrez so close to the start of the season with little time left to find a replacement.
Negotiations over a new contract will continue, however, with any agreement potentially resting on whether the 25-year-old would be allowed to leave if a suitable bid is received in future.
Reports in France on Wednesday claimed that Arsenal offered £35m for a player purchased from Le Havre in 2014 for £375 000, although that was denied by both clubs. — The Guardian.
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