19 July 2023 , 17:48
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Manchester City could try to replace Saudi-Arabia bound Riyad Mahrez with Barcelona's £40m-rated winger Raphinha.
Pep Guardiola is understood to admire Raphinha and City are weighing up a move, with Barca needing to raise funds before they can register their new signings. Mahrez is joining Saudi side Al-Ahli after City accepted a £30m bid for the winger.
Mahrez was left out of City's travelling squad for their pre-season tour of the Far East after the two clubs agreed the fee. The 32-year-old winger, who joined City from Leicester in 2018 for £60m, was given permission to miss the tour after City received a fresh bid that met their valuation.
Raphinha joined Barcelona in a £55m move from Leeds last summer and has 10 goals and 12 assists in 50 appearances for the club. But Barca may be forced into selling with their well-publicised financial problems still affecting Xavi Hernandez’s transfer plans.
The 26-year-old winger would represent a like-for-like replacement for Mahrez, who will leave City with an excellent record behind him. The Algeria international made 236 appearances for City, scoring 78 goals, and won four Premier League titles – to add to the one he won at Leicester – three League Cups, two FA Cups and the Champions League under Pep Guardiola.
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After being left on the bench in the finals of the Champions League and FA Cup last month, Mahrez decided he needed a new challenge, with Bernardo Silva preferred on the right wing for both matches. Al Ahli have offered him a two-year deal worth a whopping £40m per season.
Recently-promoted Al Ahli are one of four clubs – along with Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad – who were taken over in June by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has raided the Premier League for its stars, with the promise of huge salaries.
Raphinha could become Riyad Mahrez's replacement at Man City (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)City are also pushing ahead with a move for RB Leipzig's £75m-rated defender Josko Gvardiol, with Aymeric Laporte expected to follow Mahrez in leaving the Treble winners. Gvardiol has already agreed personal terms with the Premier League champions, but Leipzig have been driving a hard bargain over the transfer fee.
Leipzig value the Croatian defender at €100m (£86m), but City are understood to have made progress in talks with the German club. Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo will stay with City for pre-season, despite uncertainty over their futures with the club.
City will take a 25-man squad to Japan and South Korea. They play Yokohama F Marinos in Tokyo on Sunday, before taking on Bayern Munich in the Japanese capital on Wednesday. The Blues will then travel to South Korea to take on Atletico Madrid in Seoul on July 30.