The reported price tag of Riyad Mahrez has almost halved as he continues to be linked with a move away from Man City, if rumours are to be believed.
Journalist Simon Bajkowski has called recent talk of Mahrez’s potential move to Saudi Arabia ‘quite strange’, with the winger’s fee said to have dramatically decreased since Al Ahli’s pursuit began.
After bagging 15 goal contributions in the Premier League last season, Mahrez could be one of the latest players to make the move to the Middle East.
Al-Ahli are said to have expressed interest in signing the 32-year-old this summer and TEAMtalk have revealed that he has since requested to leave Man City to complete the move abroad.
With his departure looking increasingly likely, The Athletic reported yesterday that Mahrez was ‘edging closer’ to a £30 million switch to Al-Ahli – while Foot Mercato’s Santi Aouna claimed the Saudi club would submit an offer of only €20m (£17m).
Bajkowski has since called rumours of Mahrez’s ever-changing price as ‘quite strange’ and has admitted he ‘wasn’t aware’ that the Algerian even wanted to leave Man City.
Speaking on the Talking City Podcast, he said: “I wasn’t aware that he was very keen on a move.
“There was talk about a £30m fee and now there is talk of a €20m fee which is really quite strange when you consider that £30m was being used as a benchmark for Jordan Henderson.
“If he’s lost nearly half his market value in a week then that’s quite something.”
Man City should cash in on Riyad Mahrez
Riyad Mahrez has been an exceptional servant to Man City since joining the club in 2018 and has arguably been underrated at times.
However, with the winger set to turn 33 next season, City should be snatching Al-Ahli’s hand off at the prospect of earning £30m for his exit.
Mahrez is likely to have spent a lot of the upcoming campaign for Man City on the bench and they may look to clear out some of the older players, with the former Leicester City star potentially following Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva out the door.
If reports are correct in claiming Mahrez is unhappy and wants to leave the Etihad Stadium then they certainly shouldn’t stand in his way and should welcome a reasonable fee for the forward.
