Chelsea identify Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez as a summer transfer target
According to the French source Foot Mercato (h/t Football.London), Chelsea have identified Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez as a potential target ahead of the summer transfer window. He has been sensational for his side in the past few fixtures and recently also scored a double against Manchester United in the Premier League.
Mahrez will enter the final year of his current contract with Man City at the end of this season. He has been in negotiations with the Manchester club over a renewal, but an agreement has not been reached. The Blues are looking to take advantage of his uncertain future as they are “keenly interested” in securing his signature.
Paris Saint-Germain are also in the fray as they eye the Algerian to replace Angel Di Maria, who is expected to depart next summer. The West London side and PSG have “been working on the subject for several weeks” as they look to facilitate a move once this campaign ends.
Is it possible?
The initial thought that is running through most of our minds is that if a transfer is even possible to be completed. After all, a move to a direct rival is always difficult to finalise. Similar deals have happened before, but that does not make any potential move any easier. That being said, we cannot rule out anything just yet despite the difficulties.
It is definitely a surprise to see the degree of our interest and the amount of time we have been preparing to finalise a transfer. However, a move would be a major coup from our side, considering how the 31-year-old has performed throughout this season.
The Premier League winner has scored 21 goals and assisted seven times this term from 33 matches across all competitions. He would undoubtedly be a great prospect for us, considering how our attackers have struggled to be decisive at the same rate.
That being said, questions can be raised against the £33.2million valuation for the Citizens superstar. After all, he does not have many years left in his playing career, making the cost involved to be pricey depending on one’s perspective.
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Then again, one could say that the Algerian international’s output far outweighs his value, which is a reasonable argument. It will be interesting to see how this situation will pan out in the coming months ahead of the summer transfer window.
If there is a real chance of a transfer getting finalised, we must put pressure as much as possible to get this deal done ahead of the Ligue 1 side. Things could be difficult for us since the Paris based club does offer the Man City attacker the option not to ruin his relationship with his fans. Let’s wait and see the outcome of our interest in the months to come.