Sent on loan to Schalke 04 from Tottenham over the summer, Nabil Bentaleb’s time at White Hart Lane has come to an end.
The Algeria international’s option to buy in the transfer was triggered last month by the Bundesliga side, much to the player’s delight, with Spurs receiving around €20m for their midfielder.
While Bentaleb never quite made it in the Premier League, one of his international teammates certainly has, and Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez’s career so far has been a bit of an inspiration for a lot of other players, as explained by the now Schalke midfielder to La Gazette du Fennec.
“I think he was justly rewarded by being nominated the best player in the Premier League last season. I think he’s the first African to have won it. It’s something incredible for Algeria, for Africa. Completely deserved. What he achieved with Leicester City was crazy; I think we’ll still remember it in 20 years time.”
With Leicester now in the quarter finals of the Champions League following a poor campaign domestically, Riyad Mahrez will be doing his utmost to try and get his side as far into the competition as possible.
Edging further and further away from relegation to the Championship by the week, Leicester are currently six points clear of the danger zone with a game in hand on 18th placed Hull City.
Craig Shakespeare taking over from Claudio Ranieri seems to have rekindled the fire at the King Power Stadium, and while Riyad Mahrez’s season hasn’t been as impressive this time around, he certainly still has a major role to play before the end of the current campaign.
