Arsenal
Arsenal & Chelsea Handed Major Boost In Pursuit Of £35m Winger
Arsenal and Chelsea have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of a £35m-rated attacker. Find out all the details here.
The summer transfer window is now open for business so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe as the Premier League odds for the 2016/17 title sway depending on each clubs transfer activity. Today, Arsenal and Chelsea are handed a boost in their pursuit of Riyad Mahrez…
Arsenal and Chelsea have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Riyad Mahrez after Barcelona dropped out of the race to sign the £35m-rated Leicester City winger, according to the Mirror.
Mahrez has become one of the most sought-after players of the summer transfer window after scoring 17 goals and setting up 10 assists to help the Foxes march towards a shock Premier League title win last season.
Claudio Ranieri’s men have been desperately trying to tie the PFA Player of the Year down to a new and improved contract but the Mirror claim that Mahrez has rejected their advances and made it clear he wants to leave this summer.
Understandably there is plenty of interest being shown in the winger and the Express reported over the weekend that Chelsea had joined Arsenal and Barcelona in the race to sign the Algerian international.
However, the London duo have now been handed a major boost as the Mirror claim that Barca have insisted they have no interest in pursuing a deal for Mahrez this summer leaving Arsenal and Chelsea to battle-it-out over his signature.
Arsene Wenger is still in the market for further reinforcements after signing midfielder Granit Xhaka earlier in the summer and the Gunners boss could be eyeing Mahrez as a potential replacement for Theo Walcott – who’s been linked with a move after losing his place.
New Blues boss Antonio Conte is also looking to further strengthen his squad as he looks to revamp a Chelsea side that finished tenth last season and the Italian tactician could be set to snatch a second Leicester star away having wrapped-up a deal for N’Golo Kante on Saturday.
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Mahrez would be a superb addition for either team and while Leicester are keen to keep hold of him, the Mirror suggest the newly-crowned champions will be forced to cash-in if £35m is put on the table while the winger will demand wages of around £120,000-a-week.
That sort of money shouldn’t be a problem for the likes of Arsenal or Chelsea so we’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks.
