Riyad Mahrez signed a new contract on Wednesday with Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan and Andy King all extending their terms this summer.
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Drinkwater has just under two years remaining on his current deal and Ranieri sounded confident that an agreement would soon be reached with the England international’s representative.
Arsenal had reportedly been trying to sign Mahrez for most of the summer transfer window, but now that he has signed an extension with Leicester City that no longer seems to be a possibility.
He started to blossom towards the end of the 2014-15 season, when Leicester won seven of their last nine matches to avoid relegation, before taking his game to another level last season. He’s very curious about this season.
“I want to keep our big players, that’s normal”.
Leicester sent out a statement of intent by tying down star winger Mahrez – victor of the PFA Player of the Year award last season – to a new contract until June 2020 on Wednesday, despite reported interest from Arsenal and Barcelona. “You are absolutely convinced that I don’t want to spend the money, but I would like to reassure you that we are ready to spend the money we have”.
“We need to continue being very unsafe going forward and accept the way we play”.
“I think Drinky is very, very close”, said Ranieri ahead of Saturday’s home meeting with Arsenal.
Mahrez joins the likes of Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan in committing his future to the club and Ranieri is delighted the Algeria global has opted to stay put.
“Jamie Vardy believes staying at Leicester right now is better for him”, Wright told The Sun Goals podcast.
He wants more playing time after starting 14 league games last season and is keen on a switch to The Hawthorns but Ranieri remains adamant he will remain at the King Power Stadium.
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“Maybe now Riyad will be a little more free. We are happy with his performance but I was happy with the performance of all my players”.
