Report: Liverpool Eyes Leicester's Riyad Mahrez as Potential Replacement for Coutinho
Liverpool are reportedly the latest club to declare an interest in signing Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez.
The Express report that the Reds are keeping tabs on Mahrez and could potentially target him should star man Philippe Coutinho leave for Barcelona.
Liverpool will face competition for Mahrez though with Arsenal having been interested for most of the summer and Roma having a bid turned down by the Foxes.
There have been reports ever since the end of last season that Mahrez has wanted to leave the King Power Stadium, but Leicester are holding out for £50m before they consider selling such a key player to their squad.
Mahrez arrived in England in January 2014, joining Leicester from French side Le Havre. The Algerian became an instant hit with the Foxes faithful, helping the club to return to the Premier League for the first time in 10 years.
After struggling in his first season in the top flight, Mahrez found his mojo in the 2015-16 season. He scored 17 goals to help Leicester complete a remarkable Premier League title victory. Like many of his Leicester team mates, Mahrez struggled for form in the League last season but enjoyed his first campaign in the Champions League. He scored four goals in the group stage as Leicester finished top of their group, eventually losing to Atletico Madrid in the quarter finals.
Mahrez has reportedly been unhappy at Leicester so has been linked with a move away for much of the summer. Liverpool now appear to have entered the race to sign Leicester's star player. Although a deal looks like it would only be on the cards should Liverpool lose Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.
Coutinho scored in Liverpool's Premier League Asia Trophy Final win over the Foxes on Saturday with the Reds now heading for Germany to face Bayern Munich in their latest pre-season fixture.
