A winger who rejected Liverpool and was Aston Villa’s plan B to Moussa Diaby has rocketed up Man City’s shortlist of Riyad Mahrez replacements, per a trusted source.
Mahrez, 32, recently agreed to a contract worth about £30 million with Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli. The Algerian is used to playing up in forward lines with a lot of talent, so Al Ahli won’t change that. In fact, Mahrez will play at the club alongside Roberto Firmino and Allan Saint-Maximin.
In each of his five years at Man City, Mahrez has scored at least 12 goals in all competitions, making him a dangerous attacker for many years at the Etihad.
When facing more challenging opponents, Bernardo Silva was frequently selected for the position. Guardiola and Man City are, it has been established, looking for a direct Mahrez replacement.
To that aim, Man City is rumored to be interested in Michael Olise, the assist king for Crystal Palace. Raphinha of Barcelona has also been mentioned, despite the fact that he is already playing for his ideal team.
Fabrizio Romano claims that a fresh name has recently not just come under scrutiny at City, but has also shot up their shortlist.
The player in question is Belgian international Jeremy Doku, who is a Rennes livewire, according to the transfer guru’s tweet. Doku and Olise are “two of the top names being explored by Man City,” according to Romano.
Doku, who plays on the right wing but is right-footed, would be seen as Mahrez’s straight replacement because of this.
What Liverpool couldn’t accomplish, Man City could.
Doku just had a breakthrough season at Rennes, tallying a career-high seven goals in all competitions.
He was set up as a fallback option for Aston Villa in case Unai Emery’s team were unable to sign Moussa Diaby. But once Villa defeated Al Nassr in the race to sign Diaby, their interest in Doku waned.
Doku was formerly actively chased by Liverpool, who, according to talkSPORT, even saw him as Sadio Mane’s long-term replacement. Jurgen Klopp. In fact, the attacker came very close to joining Liverpool in 2018.
Doku visited Anfield while deciding what to do next being on the books at Anderlecht at the moment. Nevertheless, the Belgian made the decision to sign with French club Rennes and has since developed into a regular starter.
Since the snub, Liverpool has kept an eye on Doku, but they have avoided making a serious move for him by making alternative moves for players like Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Fabio Carvalho, and Cody Gakpo.
In the present, Guardiola might succeed where Klopp and Liverpool failed since Mahrez is no longer there.