Puel slaps price tag of over $182m on Mahrez
Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez could be worth even more than £100 million (S$182m) if he leaves Leicester City at the end of the season, Foxes manager Claude Puel has said.
"It is speculation and we cannot respond to all the speculation with information," Puel told a press conference.
"Perhaps, in the summer he will cost even more than £100m.
"It is always the same thing about Riyad. It is just rumours, noise about him and other players," added Puel of Mahrez, one of the stars of Leicester's shock EPL title triumph in 2015/16.
"We can see Riyad smiling and enjoying his football and enjoying playing with his teammates and it is the same in training. After the training session, he continues to play head tennis, and I want him to get more rest.
"All the rumours and speculation about Riyad, do the reporters want him to leave the club?"
Mahrez has recently been linked to the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool. He asked to leave the club in pre-season but only AS Roma made a firm offer.
Their £32-million offer was not enough to persuade Leicester to sell, though.
A sign of the increasingly high prices clubs are prepared to play for players came when Dutch star Virgil van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton for £75m this month, a world record fee for a defender. - AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
