Transfer News: Barcelona enter race to sign Riyad Mahrez amidst Chelsea interest
According to the French news outlet Foot Mercato (h/t The Sun), Barcelona have now entered the race to secure the signature of Riyad Mahrez amidst interest from Chelsea for a future transfer. His future at Etihad Stadium has been clouded in recent times, which has resulted in him getting linked with an exit elsewhere.
Mahrez has a contract with Manchester City, which will only expire in the summer of 2023. Now, clubs have turned their attention towards the winger as he is in line to enter the final year of his deal. The interested parties are tracking his situation in case his club decides to part ways with him for a transfer fee.
The Blues and Paris Saint-Germain have already been credited with an interest in the Algerian. Now, Barca have entered the fray and have “made contact” with the attacker regarding a future move a few weeks ago. They are lining up a move for him to replace the departure bound Ousmane Dembele, who will become a free agent this summer.
Do Chelsea even stand a chance?
Raiding one of your direct rivals for one of their key players is always a challenging task indeed. That is the same here as well, with the 31-year-old being one of the most important chess pieces for Pep Guardiola to choose from. After all, the winger has 22 goals and seven assists to his name from 36 matches this term across all competitions.
Hence, we should be sceptical about such news unless we receive more confirmation from reliable sources. However, if our interest is believed to be true, then the Catalan’s entry would no doubt be a transfer blow for us. That is especially the case with them, having met the Citizens superstar a few weeks ago.
That being said, we do have the edge over the Spanish club, as our sporting project is much better compared to theirs at this moment. However, that may not be enough to convince the African star to move to Stamford Bridge. We cannot take PSG lightly either who are looking to secure his services to possibly replace Angel Di Maria.
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Then again, our priority at the moment would be to convince the UK Government to lift the restrictions that prevent us from engaging in transfer dealings. After all, our interest would be in vain if the ban is still in place when the window opens after this campaign.
Mahrez would be a great addition to reinforce our right-wing. However, it would be best if we focus our attention elsewhere, like Dembele, for example, rather than a sceptical cause. He will be a free agent this summer, and the club should have a look at him, considering how he has performed recently. We were linked with a move for him in January, so we cannot rule out a summer transfer just yet.