LONDON: Italy’s AS Roma is preparing to step up its pursuit of Leicester City’s wantaway Algerian midfielder Riyad Mahrez with a revised third bid of around £35m reportedly in the offing for the 2016 PFA Player of the Year.
Mahrez has been strongly linked all summer with a move to Leicester’s English Premier League rival Arsenal, but it appears Gunners boss Arsene Wenger sees him as a fall-back option if approaches for AS Monaco’s Thomas Lemar do not come to fruition.
Contrastingly, Roma’s manager Eusebio Di Francesco has identified Mahrez as a key signing and the 26-year-old winger is understandably keen to finalize his future long before the transfer window closes later this month.
“I know Roma came in, but nothing was accepted so there is little I can do,” Mahrez told Sky Sports News following Leicester’s 2-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in a pre-season friendly on Friday evening.
“They (Roma) are a great club who I would like to talk to, but I cannot until Leicester accept a deal.
“Leicester know my thoughts, but I will continue to give my best for the club as I always have.
“Clearly, it is flattering whenever you get linked with any big clubs, but as it stands, I have not talked to anyone as nobody has had a bid accepted, but we nearly have a month left of the transfer window so we will see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Roma’s sporting director Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo, also known as ‘Monchi’, has joined Wenger in criticizing Neymar’s world record transfer from FC Barcelona to Qatar-backed Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for £200m.
“Neymar? It makes me feel a bit scared and uncomfortable,” Monchi told the assembled press as the Giallorossi officially unveiled Turkish striker Cengiz Under as their latest signing.
“I don’t know where we’re going and I don’t want to think we’re building an artificial bubble that will explode in the future, like the property bubble, which has done so much damage to the global economy.
“You know my history; I’m not someone that buys very expensive players.
“I respect what PSG have done, but whether it’s legal or not, the institutions will tell us.
“Personally, this millionaire show makes me uncomfortable and scares me, especially now, when the non-footballing economy tells us that many people are suffering in their everyday lives. When we should be a mirror, sometimes we’re not.”