RIYAD MAHREZ’S hopes of leaving Leicester this summer are fading fast.
The want-away Algerian winger is rapidly running out of options as the club’s Thai owners prepare to dig their heels in over any deal. Unless Arsene Wenger coughs up the Foxes’ minimum £50million asking price, it seems inevitable Mahrez, 26, will be going nowhere for a second summer.
Monaco’s Thomas Lemar remains Arsenal’s first-choice wide option and Wenger will only turn to Mahrez once he has exhausted that possibility.
But the message from Leicester’s owners is not only do they not want to sell Mahrez, they are so wealthy they do not need to sell, either.
A King Power source said: “Mahrez’s problem is he has talked about a move to Arsenal for two summers now but on both occasions he has had three years remaining on his contract.
“Therefore he is in no position to dictate the next move or call the shots — all the power lies with the club.
“Leicester’s owners do not need the money so unless it’s a staggering deal and the kind of offer which would be stupid to turn down, why would they sell for less than £50m in this market?” Serie A side Roma have bid £20m and are expected to return with a bigger offer of around £30m but the Foxes feel that is chicken feed.
SunSport understands Kyle Walker’s £50m move to Manchester City showed the Foxes’ billionaire father and son owners, Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, just how much some clubs are prepared to pay to get what they want.
Last season the Gunners would have been able to sign Mahrez for £35m. But Walker’s fee moved the goalposts as Leicester’s owners realised they were in the driving seat where their star was concerned.
He was voted England’s player of the year by his fellow pros in their shock title-winning campaign and finished seventh in the prestigious Ballon d’Or.
The source added: “Arsenal didn’t make a solitary bid for Mahrez last summer.
“Since then his value has doubled and so has his salary, but his form dipped last season.
“As for Roma, the serious money is in the Premier League, not Serie A.
From The Sun
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