If Al-Ahli can complete signings for Roberto Firmino and Edouard Mendy, Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez is a rumoured target.Mendy, the latest Chelsea player to join the Saudi Pro League, will follow in the footsteps of N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly, while Firmino will undergo a medical at Al-Ahli after leaving Liverpool as a free agent.
Mahrez, whose contract at City expires in 2025, will be given £43 million per year plus bonuses for a two-year agreement – a five-fold increase over the £8.5 million per year extension he signed last summer.
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Mahrez is thought to be unsure about leaving City this summer, despite the fact that the Algerian winger was frustrated with his lack of playing time towards the end of the season, when he was an unused replacement in the Champions League and FA Cup finals.
It’s also doubtful that City would allow Mahrez, who is under contract until 2025, to follow free agent Ilkay Gundogan out of the Etihad, especially with Bernardo Silva garnering interest from Al-Hilal.
Mahrez is the most recent high-profile Premier League player to be linked with a transfer to Saudi Arabia. Mendy is poised to join the Saudi Pro League club, after the departures of Chelsea teammates N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly to Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal, respectively. According to The Mail, it is ‘uncertain’ whether Mahrez would quit City, especially after the treble-winning squad let midfielder Ilkay Gundogan to join Barcelona earlier this month.
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In contrast, the 32-year-old, who was ‘disappointed’ with his lack of playing time towards the end of the season when he was an unused replacement in the Champions League and FA Cup finals, is ‘interested’ in finishing his career in Saudi Arabia, according to the source.
Al-Ahli have returned to the Saudi top division after being demoted last season, and are one of four founding teams – along with Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ittihad – who were taken over earlier this month by the country’s Public Investment Fund, which also owns Newcastle United.
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