Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez is said to be "very depressed" this evening after a proposed move to Manchester City fell through in the final throes of deadline day.
The 26-year-old announced his desire to leave the Foxes at the end of last season but was unable to orchestrate a move away from the club after they turned down several offers for his signature.
Earlier this week it emerged that Premier League leaders City were interested in a late move for the Algerian and, despite submitting a top bid of £60m, were forced to withdraw from negotiations today after Leicester allegedly demanded an eye-watering fee of £95m.
According to Sky Sports News citing "a close friend", the Foxes' unfeasibly-high valuation of the player has left him in a devastated state.
"Riyad Mahrez is very depressed this evening over the events of the last two days," the friend is quoted as saying. "He doesn't understand why Leicester have behaved in the way they have.
"This is the fourth transfer window in which Leicester have said they will allow him to leave. He feels very strongly that he has done everything in his power for the club, he played a huge part in Leicester's promotion in his first season. He then helped them to make history and win the Premier League title and he's done what the chairman has asked of him which is to stay at the King Power and secure the club's Premier League safety.
"They've let [N'Golo] Kante go, [Danny] Drinkwater go, he could have been the record sale in the history of the club and the record purchase for Manchester City. By my calculations Leicester would have made £59.8m profit on the player.
"He's been told by his former teammates to get out of Leicester - 'you have to go to war' - which he's tried to avoid. He's given his all for Leicester this season so he could leave in this window. Joining Manchester City would have been a dream for him. Playing for Pep [Guardiola] is something he is still desperate to do - this seems a long way off now.
"He's very down about the way he's been treated by a club he's served so well."
Mahrez joined Leicester for a reported fee of just £450,000 from Le Havre in January 2014.
Neil Wilkes
