Mahrez ‘happy’ at Leicester and rules out January exit
Riyad Mahrez insists he will not leave Leicester in the January transfer window after declaring himself happy with life at the table-topping Foxes.
The 24-year-old played a pivotal role in Leicester’s defeat of Chelsea on Monday night and has been watched closely by Manchester United, Arsenal and Barcelona during a stand-out season which has seen him score 11 goals and make seven assists in 15 appearances.
The Algeria international joined Leicester in a £400,000 deal from Ligue 2 club Le Havre in 2014 but his value has now rocketed with Claudio Ranieri insisting he could not even put a figure on it.
In an interview with French radio station RMC, when asked if he will leave Leicester City next month, Mahrez said: “It’s best for me to stay until the end of the season.
“I was at Le Havre, I had six months left but nobody came to get me. Leicester tried very hard to get me,” he added.
“I could feel that they wanted me. I took the decision without knowing the culture or the area. It was a risk.
“When you come from far away and you end up in the Premier League it makes you happy. I am happy that I signed for Leicester.”
Mahrez revealed he has a good rapport with Ranieri and has put in extra work to make the impact he has this season.
“We laugh a lot in training. It is true that Ranieri motivates us a lot. He has great experience. We work a lot on pressing and counter-attacking.
“I have grown up, I know my body a bit better. Training is not the same. It is true that I work a lot after and outside of training. That’s different from France.
“Clearly, it is always good to score goals, it gives me a lot of confidence. It helps us to keep going in the right direction.”
Leicester are top of the Premier League after Monday’s 2-1 win over Chelsea but Mahrez dampened title hopes insisting: “We are not going to win the league, no. I don’t think we have broad enough shoulders to do it. For the moment we are first, but it means nothing, the big guys will wake up at some moment.”