After news from France on Friday afternoon that AS Roma had made a third bid for Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez, confirmation from pretty much every outlet in Italy has arrived.
The offer, which stands at €35m, is, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who provide the most details, a statement of intent by the Serie A side’s new director of football, Monchi, that he moved to the club to win.
Never has the Spaniard decided to spend so much money on a player, even if the offer the Foxes received arrived in the tried and tested formula of yearly payments.
The Italian newspaper explain the bid was presumably similar to those accepted in the past by Premier League clubs for the likes of Mohamed Salah and Edin Dzeko i.e. an initial loan with a view to buy (which Il Messaggero also suggest).
Furthermore, they state there is also a possibility that Leicester would receive a percentage of any profit Roma make from Mahrez down the line, even if that could very well be wishful thinking on the Serie A side’s part.
Still short of the Foxes’ valuation of the Algeria international, the new bid has yet to be rejected, and the player has made it clear he would like to talk to Roma about a potential move there, being unable to do so until an offer is accepted.
This is, of course, a far cry from what has been claimed in Italy, which is that the Leicester forward has already ‘said yes’ to Roma’s contractual offer.
We now have to wait the Premier League side’s decision.
