Mahrez would do great things at Roma – Gonalons

Joe Wright

Mahrez would do great things at Roma – Gonalons image

Maxime Gonalons believes Riyad Mahrez would thrive at Roma if he joined the club from Leicester City.

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The Algeria international stated in May he wanted a new challenge, but he remains a Leicester player.

Goal revealed earlier in July that Roma were plotting an initial bid of around €35 million (£30.7m) for Mahrez and Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare has since revealed an offer from the Serie A side has been turned down.

Gonalons, who joined Roma from Lyon this month, has backed his new club's reported pursuit of the 2015-16 Premier League winner.

"Mahrez is a great player and he could do great things if he came to Roma," Gonalons told Corriere dello Sport. "But what counts is [on] the pitch. It's pointless setting goals when you haven't played yet."

Mahrez started both of Leicester's Premier League Asia Trophy matches against West Brom and Liverpool last week, scoring against Tony Pulis' side, despite the speculation over his future.

Club captain Wes Morgan is unclear of his plans but has praised the winger for staying committed during pre-season.

"Everyone knows about Riyad Mahrez. We've seen what a difference he can make. He's got the key to unlock defences," said Morgan, as quoted by the Leicester Mercury.

"I think you can see on the pitch that he's not slacking. He's putting in a shift for the boys. He's a Leicester player and that's all I can say."

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.