City will need late winner to replace Riyad

CITY are about to lose another player integral to their success under Pep Guardiola.

- DANIEL MURPHY

Captain Ilkay Gundogan has already departed and Riyad Mahrez is set to follow him out of the door. The winger is the only senior star not to travel to Tokyo for City's preseason tour of Asia as he nears a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli in a £30million transfer.

On the face of things, it's a pretty good deal for the Blues. £30million for a 32-year-old player with just two years remaining on his deal and who is no longer a regular starter? Snap those hands off. Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski have gone for higher transfer fees over that age.

Mahrez himself clearly fancies the move as well after not seeing a minute of action in the FA Cup or Champions League final.

City maintains the stance of not holding on to those who wish to leave as long as the money is right and this move suits all parties.

But it shouldn't go underappreciated how good a player City are waving goodbye to. Mahrez finished the 2022 season as top scorer with 24 goals and though Erling Haaland's arrival overshadowed him on that front, he still contributed 15 goals and 13 assists to the treble win. In fact, the Algerian actually started more games last season than he did the year before.