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Football

09th Jun 2018

Riyad Mahrez set to complete £75m transfer to Manchester City

He went AWOL in January when the deal fell through

Reuben Pinder

It fell through in January

Riyad Mahrez looks set to complete his £75m to Manchester City, months after Leicester refused to sell him in January. Mahrez was reportedly so gutted by the transfer falling through a few months back that he went AWOL.

But the Algerian international returned to training and performed well for Leicester during the final months of the season, and that cooperation has earned him the move he so desired.

According to the Daily Mirrorthe deal is close to being finalised.

With the arrival of Mahrez, City will have four wide players to rotate in and out of the starting XI, with Bernardo Silva, Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling already there.

One would expect Mahrez to take a backseat at first, as Bernardo Silva did this season, before he becomes accustomed to Pep Guardiola’s meticulously planned training sessions.

Leicester have been the beneficiaries of the chemistry that Mahrez has with Jamie Vardy, as the pair fired Leicester to the Premier League title in 2015/16. As the duo are split up, Leicester will have to invest the money wisely and recruit someone capable of creating chances for their star striker.

Both Jack Grealish and Jack Maddison, who stood out in the Championship this season, have been linked with a move to the King Power.

The Foxes have already signed Jonny Evans this summer, for an insanely small fee given the quality the Northern-Irishman possesses.