Riyad Mahrez Upset At FC Barcelona’s Procrastination

Seemingly forsaking the touted Barcelona track, due to the Catalan club’s shilly-shallying for a possible transfer this season, Leicester star Algeria international, Riyad Mahrez, is now seriously looking for a way out of the King Power Stadium this summer and would prefer a switch to Arsenal over Chelsea and Liverpool, according to various news reports.

The much talented Leicester attacker was a key part of their 2015/16 English Premier League winning campaign and even signed a four-year contract extension amid interest from several European clubs this time last year.

But with a lukewarm performance from both he and Leicester last season, and with manager Claudio Ranieri departing the side and an anti-climactic mid-table finish from the Foxes, Riyad Mahrez has declared his desire to move on from the Midlands club onto a higher footballing level.

It is thought the Algerian winger would prefer a move to north-London side Arsenal over any other interested parties, despite them being without Champions League football next season. 

Riyad Mahrez feels that with manager Arsene Wenger, he would earn more playtime with the Gunners, whereas with the Pensioners and the Reds, he face more of a fight for regular football

Arsenal missed out on qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in Wenger’s 20-year reign after finishing fifth last term, but Mahrez remains keen on a move to north London where he is said to believe a dressing room full of French speakers would accelerate his acclimatization.

Arsene Wenger is likely to be in the market for a versatile winger this summer given the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The Arsenal manager did little to quell speculation earlier this month when asked if he was likely to make a renewed effort to sign Riyad Mahrez this summer, saying: ‘We have not made a bid, but personally, I do like the Algerian player, yes”, Wenger asserted.

Mahrez has also been rumoured to be interesting FC Barcelona and reports in Spain claimed he was ready to play a waiting game and see if a club who he has previously claimed it would be a ‘dream’ to play for made a concrete offer.

FC Barcelona are said to be looking for wide players this summer but at present their new manager Ernesto Valverde is focused on re-signing Gerard Deulofeu from Everton and pushing through a deal for Borussia Dortmund’s France international Ousmane Dembele.