Former Premier League striker Stan Collymore has boldly suggested Riyad Mahrez could soon become surplus to requirements under Pep Guardiola.
Currently, the Algerian is in brilliant form for City.
On Saturday, he stole headlines for hitting a hat-trick in the FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United.
He is now up to 15 goals for the season, and his purple patch is brilliant news for Guardiola.
A massive few weeks are coming up, with the Treble very much on.
It is important that players other than Erling Haaland are scoring consistently, and Mahrez is certainly looking good in front of goal right now.
BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks noted that he is playing with the ‘swagger’ he had during Leicester City’s title win in 2015/16.
Mahrez is playing brilliantly right now. But Collymore has suggested he may not have too much longer playing regular football at the Etihad Stadium.
He wrote a column for Caught Offside, suggesting that Guardiola might be thinking about moving him on. And if that is the case, he believes Newcastle United should be in for him.
He said: “I know he’s played a fair amount of football this season, probably more than he was expecting. But with Jack Grealish the younger of the two, as well as how much they paid for him, I can’t see him being a player that is moved on, whereas, I think Mahrez could be made surplus to requirements under Pep Guardiola.
“Should that be the case, Newcastle should go all out for him – I would be stunned if they aren’t already to be fair.”
Riyad Mahrez is not getting any younger, but his level remains high for Man City
Mahrez may be 32 now but his level and goal output is still very good for City.
The Algerian is still a key member of the squad, and he is a player capable of winning games on his own. He tends to step up in big games, too.
Eventually, he will be deemed surplus. that is true of any player. But it’s hard to see that happening this summer.
Although to be fair, it could depend on new players that come into the club.
Hopefully he will still be around at the Etihad for a little while yet.
If Newcastle do happen to come calling in the summer, then City should not entertain their interest. If Mahrez is wanting a new challenge, then City should try and steer him towards a club overseas.
This removes the potential of him coming back to haunt City in domestic competitions.
