Puel calms Leicester fans about Mahrez

CAIRO – 16 January 2018: Leicester City manager, Claude Puel believes that the club’s Algeian star, Riyad Mahrez will not leave the club this January despite the rumors linking him with a move to Liverpool.

“Of course we are in the transfer window and it's normal for all the best players to be linked with transfers, but I'm not afraid about this because there's a fantastic spirit and good attitude in this squad,” Puel told Skysports on Monday.

Mahrez, 26 joined Leicester in 2014, he played a significant role in Leicester’s 2016 Premier League title campaign in which they defied all expectations and won the trophy. Since then he has been linked with a move to a plethora of European giants.

Mahrez has been linked with a move to Liverpool this January to replace Philippe Coutinho who left the club to join Barcelona.

Puel praised Mahrez, “He has a fantastic influence on the team, a valuable player for the team. We can see he is enjoying his football and is happy with his team-mates and with us. It's important for us to keep our best players.”

Mahrez and his teammates found success under Puel’s command after they suffered a poor start this season under Craig Shakespeare. They are currently 8th in the League table with 31 points.