As we enter the final two weeks of the transfer window, things are going to heat up exponentially, meaning media outlets will find any excuse to link ‘x player’ to ‘x club’ in need of someone playing in ‘x player’s position’.
Of course, for Arsenal fans, this has already started to happen, but for the vast majority of the Premier League, business has been done in relatively timely fashion.
However, from time to time, a story pops out because a player was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and that’s exactly what happened to Riyad Mahrez.
An Arsenal target, the winger happened to be in London at a hotel where Chelsea were also staying, which ultimately led to ‘Mahrez meets with Antonio Conte’ stories to surface.
However, and rather unsurprisingly, the Leicester City star, speaking to France Football, decided to put that story to bed right away, blaming the British tabloids for it.
He said: “I don’t think about them (the tabloids) too much. I’m not part of that world. I play football and then I go home. It’s true that, in England, they’re crazy about it. Last Sunday, after a game, we were in the same hotel as Chelsea and that was a story. They find the smallest detail to be a part of your life. I know how to deal with it. After all, I’m not David Beckham.”
So there you have it, Mahrez being in the same hotel as Chelsea was a coincidence, nothing more.
At least, that’s what he says… But no, it was just a coincidence. Definitely. Or was it?
Bloody tabloids!