Leicester City seek more than S$80m for Mahrez

LONDON — Leicester City will demand a fee of more than £45 million (S$80 million) for Riyad Mahrez but remain confident the Players’ Player of the Year will not be following N’Golo Kante out of the exit door.

The Premier League champions are refusing to put a specific price tag on the Algerian winger.

Instead, they reckon the £49 million Manchester City paid Liverpool for Raheem Sterling last summer should be used as a benchmark in any negotiations.

Mahrez, 25, has been offered a new deal that could earn him up to £100,000 a week and has yet to give any indications that he will not sign it.

Leicester’s stance is also hardened by the fact he has three years left on his present deal and was one of last season’s stand-out players, scoring 17 goals to help the club lift the title.

Kante completed his £30 million move to Chelsea over the weekend and Claudio Ranieri is refusing to become downbeat about the departure of the France midfielder.

“The loss of one important player is reasonable,” he said.

“I was hoping everyone would stick with us and listen to my advice, which was to live together the adventure of the Champions League, then everyone could go their own way the next summer. But I understand that a club like Chelsea can’t leave you indifferent.”

Ranieri will now be hoping that Mahrez follows the lead of Jamie Vardy, who has signed a new £100,000-a-week deal after rejecting the chance to Arsenal.

The affable Italian is not losing sleep either over his team’s Premier League title defence as he believes the pressure to succeed is more on the new managers of the big-name clubs.

The 2016-17 season will see some of the most prized managers with Jose Mourinho guiding Manchester United, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Antonio Conte in charge of Chelsea.

“You imagine the big teams who didn’t win, who didn’t make the Champions League.

“They are going crazy now, they want to kill now. Not just us, but all the other teams,” Ranieri told British media.

“They have new managers, fantastic managers. I’m laughing because at the end only one will win. And the pressure is not on me, it’s on them.

“Leicester City? People are just curious. What can Leicester do next season? Repeat?

“To win is a dream.” AGENCIES