Arsenal may have been turned down by one Leicester player already this summer, in the form of Jamie Vardy, but the Gunners will be a little more hopeful of securing fellow teammate Riyad Mahrez, who has reportedly rejected a new contract from the Premier League champions.
The Leicester trio, Vardy, Mahrez and Kante were always going to be the players that other top European sides came calling for this summer, after all three had fantastic domestic campaigns. Vardy had the chance to sign for Arsenal but favoured a new contract with Leicester, whilst Kante seems likely to soon sign for Chelsea with a rumoured £32 million offer on the table according to SkySports. That leaves Mahrez’s future up in the air, who has arguably received the least attention out of the three despite being named the PFA Player of the Year.
Mahrez previously seemed quite keen to stay with the Foxes, however the news that the Leicester team may be slowly dismantling with the sale of Kante to Chelsea, Mahrez has reportedly turned down Leicester’s latest contract offer and would be open to a move away. Barcelona and Real Madrid were also reportedly in the hunt for Mahrez, but have since gone off the trail after looking elsewhere. Arsenal have therefore become favourites for the Algerian and are favoured much higher by the bookies, than any of the rivals for his signature .
Arsenal may be prioritising a striker at the moment as the next incomer at Arsenal, but it shouldn’t stop the club from looking at Mahrez ahead of the new season. The Gunners are in desperate need of a top quality consistent winger because after Sanchez, the level of quality in the wingers we currently have drops dramatically. A price of around £25 million has been rumoured for Mahrez’s services, which is a decent price for someone who scored 17 goals and grabbed 11 assists last season.
We will have to wait and see if there are any developments to the story in the coming days, but Mahrez really would be a major coup for the Gunners.
By AH