Premier League champions Manchester City have completed their first signing of the summer transfer window with Riyad Mahrez joining from Leicester City on a club-record deal. The Algeria international was initially tipped to join the Citizens last winter but the club have eventually won the race for his services after agreeing upon a £60m sum with the Foxes.

 

“I am so pleased to have joined City, a side playing great football under Pep Guardiola. Watching them from afar has been a pleasure. Pep is committed to playing attacking football, which is perfect for me, and City’s performances last season were outstanding. They’re redefining the English game and I wanted to be a part of it. I think we can be successful over the coming years and I believe my own game can develop under Pep’s management,” he is quoted as saying on the club’s official website.

With Mahrez at the helm, the Citizens are expected to only get stronger upfront next season and it will be interesting to see how their rivals fare during the remainder of the transfer window. Meanwhile, City have been constantly linked with Jorginho since the close of the previous campaign but it appears that the deal could go down to the wire owing to their reluctance to match Napoli’s price tag.

The Italian is reported to have already finalised personal terms with the reigning English champions but City’s reluctance to match the £53m valuation could hamper their chances of signing the midfielder. Of late, league rivals Chelsea have been credited with an interest in the former Verona man and reports suggest that they may seek to hijack the deal whilst also negotiating the release of manager Maurizio Sarri from the Naples outfit. The Blues are yet to sort out their head coach situation with Antonio Conte still in charge despite being tipped to be sacked.