Riyad Mahrez was the subject of bids from Roma last summer and Manchester City in January but Leicester City decided to hold firm. Tony O'Brien / Reuters
Riyad Mahrez was the subject of bids from Roma last summer and Manchester City in January but Leicester City decided to hold firm. Tony O'Brien / Reuters

Riyad Mahrez withdraws transfer request but 'will see' what Leicester future holds at end of season



Riyad Mahrez has withdrawn his transfer request to leave Leicester City, although the Algerian winger refused to commit himself to the club beyond the end of this season.

Mahrez, 27, asked to leave Leicester when Manchester City submitted a bid during the January transfer window. He missed two games during the saga but Leicester held firm for the second successive window after previously rejecting bids from Roma last summer.

Mahrez is under contract at tLeicester until June 2020 but, despite insisting his transfer request was done, he still left his future open.

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"It has gone. It was in January, it's another transfer window. I am still here - I don't want to put a lot of things in my head," Mahrez told Sky Sports, when asked whether the request still stood.

"At that time I handed a transfer (request in) because I had offers from Manchester City so obviously I wanted to go. But now I am still at Leicester.

"With me, especially, you never know what is happening. Every time I have to go but I am still here. I don't really want to talk about (whether) I am going or staying. I just want to finish the last three games. We will see what will happen for me.

"I am still in contract with Leicester so at the moment I am here and we will see."

Mahrez returned to the Leicester side against Pep Guardiola's City in a 5-1 defeat as a substitute in February.

He was voted the PFA Player of the Year in 2016 when he scored 17 goals to help Leicester to a shock Premier League title. He then helped them to the quarter-finals of the Uefa Champions League last year.

The Algeria playmaker has struggled to recreate that form this season, although he has scored 11 times with Leicester ninth ahead of Saturday's visit of West Ham United.

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