Man City Close In On Riyad Mahrez
The Premier League champions have finally bagged their man.
BBC Sport claim that Man City will formally announce the signing of Leicester City midfielder Riyad Mahrez before the end of next week.
The deal between both clubs ends City's pursuit of the player. In January, they elected against meeting Leicester's valuation of Mahrez, and that led to the Algerian star handing in a transfer request. Now, it appears he has his wish, is set to leave Leicester and will join up with Pep Guardiola in Manchester.
Initial reports suggest the fee is "around £60 million". The deal has been agreed at the same time as one for Napoli's Jorginho, who will move to the Etihad for approximately €50 million. It's interesting that both players suit similar positions.
On the surface, Mahrez is the kind of attack-minded player that Guardiola loves. Quick on the ball, good at bursting into an opponent's box and excellent at shooting from distance, he should fit in well at City. Since joining from Le Havre in 2014, Mahrez has scored 48 goals in 179 games for the 2015-2016 Premier League winners.
That same season, he was voted PFA Players' Player of the Year.