Man City refute Leicester claims over Riyad Mahrez

Matt Stead

Manchester City opened negotiations with Leicester over Riyad Mahrez a week before the January transfer deadline, according to Sky Sports.

Claude Puel created controversy on Wednesday after accusing the Premier League leaders of a lack of “respect” over their pursuit of Mahrez.

“To make solicitation just one or two days before the end of the transfer window, I don’t know if it is normal,” said the Leicester manager.

“We don’t have a lot of players with the same quality like Riyad.

“For some other teams, it is not a difficulty to replace their players. We’re not a squad like some great teams at the top of the table. We need to manage better and we need also perhaps some respect from others.”

However, Sky Sports report that City ‘began negotiations’ over a week before the deadline, and Leicester ‘were open to discussing a potential fee’ for Mahrez.