Arsenal
Wenger Confirms Interest As Arsenal Boss Hints At Move For £35m Attacker
Arsene Wenger has confirmed his interest in Riyad Mahrez and has hinted Arsenal could launch a bid to sign the £35m-rated Leicester City attacker this summer
Managers are now pressing ahead with their plans for the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, Arsene Wenger hints at a move for Riyad Mahrez….
Arsene Wenger has confirmed his interest in Riyad Mahrez and has hinted Arsenal could launch a bid to sign the £35m-rated Leicester City attacker this summer, according to the Independent.
Mahrez was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal last summer but opted to stay at the King Power and sign a new contract ahead of their maiden campaign in the Champions League.
The Algerian international continued to showcase his talents in Europe but like many of his team mates, Mahrez struggled to replicate the kind of form in the Premier League that saw him named as the 2016 PFA Player of the Year.
The 26-year-old is expected to find a new club this summer after handing in a written transfer request to Leicester last week stating that he was ambitious and was ready for a new challenge.
Mahrez is quoted as saying by the Independent:
“Out of the huge admiration and respect I hold for Leicester City Football Club I wanted to be totally honest and transparent with them and have therefore informed the club that I feel now is the time for me to move on.
“I had a good discussion with the Chairman last summer and we agreed at that time that I would stay for another year in order to help the club as best as I could following the transition of winning the title and in the Champions League.
“However, I am fiercely ambitious and feel that now is the time to move on to a new experience.”
This bombshell has sparked speculation that Arsenal will renew their interest in Mahrez this summer and Wenger has now fuelled the fire after confirming his interest in the attacker.
Speaking to French TV, the boss is quoted by the Independent as saying that while no formal offer has been tabled just yet, he may decide to formalise his interest over the coming weeks.
“We have not made a bid for him [Mahrez] but personally I like the player, yes,” Wenger said
“I think he had a huge impact at Leicester when they won the championship, like everybody else.
“It’s been a different season this year but it doesn’t take anything away from his qualities.
“Have we made a bid for him? No. Not yet. Not yet means it could happen, it could not happen.”
Leicester are in a strong negotiating position as Mahrez signed a new four-year contract just last summer so the Independent suggest it will take an offer of £35m to persuade them to sell.
That sort of money shouldn’t be a problem for Arsenal as Wenger reportedly has a healthy transfer kitty to play with this summer and I think Mahrez would be an excellent addition to the squad.
Obviously he failed to live up to the heights of 2015/16 when he scored 17 goals and provided 10 assists to help fire Leicester to the title but if we could get him back to his best then he’d be a superb signing.
READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news
With the future’s of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Lucas Perez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott in doubt Wenger is almost certainly going to be in the market for attacking reinforcements this summer and Mahrez appears to be on his radar again.
