Reports: Manchester City to make a move for £35m rated Premier League star
What's the story?
Manchester City have enjoyed an incredible start to their Premier League campaign and currently sit eight points clear at the top of the table. The Sky Blues have played some scintillating football, scoring 40 goals in their first 12 matches. However, this is all too familiar for Pep Guardiola, whose City team began last season in similar fashion, but eventually finished third.
Guardiola has warned his players of complacency, and the Spanish manager seems to have also taken his own advice to heart. According to reports from the Sun, Manchester City will look to bolster an already flourishing attack by signing Leicester's Riyad Mahrez.
In case you didn't know...
Riyad Mahrez began his professional senior career at French club Le Havre, where the Algerian winger played for three seasons before moving to Leicester City in 2014. Mahrez quickly became a first-team regular for the Foxes, helping them stay in the Premier League.
Mahrez's first season in the Premier League was summed up by a heroic relegation battle in which Leicester won seven of their last nine games to avoid relegation. However, the pièce de résistance of his career would come in the following season, when Leicester beat all odds to finish as the Premier League champions. The Algerian combined with striker Jamie Vardy to devastating effect and scored 17 goals in the league to help Leicester win the league.
The heart of the matter
Riyad Mahrez has been the subject of interest from several clubs since Leicester City's spectacular title win, and has repeatedly been linked with the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona. Unfortunately, speculation has waned since 2016, with the winger putting in less remarkable performances over the last 18 months.
Mahrez has made no secret of his desire to move to Barcelona, but interest from the Catalan giants has cooled significantly. Pep Guardiola is the latest to have expressed an interest in the winger and views him as an ideal replacement for Jesus Navas, who left City in the summer. Manchester City may offer the winger a chance to pursue his ambitions, albeit in a more diminished role than the one he is used to at Leicester.
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Author's Take
Leicester have struggled with keeping hold of the key players who helped them to the title, with Danny Drinkwater and N'Golo Kante leaving the club to join Chelsea. Should City choose to follow up on their interest in Mahrez, it seems very likely that the winger will leave for Manchester.