Ranieri confident Mahrez won’t join Arsenal
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri is confident star man Riyad Mahrez will not leave the Premier League champions this summer.
Mahrez has been the subject of a lot of speculation in recent weeks over his future, linking him with a move to Arsenal. Chelsea and Real Madrid have also expressed an interest in last season’s PFA Player of the Year.
The Algerian put in another man of the match performance as the Foxes beat Celtic on penalties in their opening game of the International Champions Cup.
The Premier League champions will play Ligue 1 title winners Paris Saint-Germain and La Liga champions Barcelona coming up in the next 10 days.
Speaking to the media after Leicester’s win at Celtic Park, Ranieri reiterated that he expects Mahrez to remain at the King Power Stadium for another season.
“I’m confident, of course,” Ranieri said when asked if he thought Mahrez would remain at Leicester.
“We know very well there are other teams who must win the Premier League. We just have to defend it.
“I changed him at last because I said ‘okay, his job is done, it’s better to avoid injury.’
“I’m very happy, we have a very good dressing room. The players who came in are very good.”
Leicester have already lost one of their highly-rated trio in N’Golo Kante, who completed his move to Chelsea last week. It would be a major blow to the Foxes’ chances next season if they were to lose Mahrez.