Arsenal set to raid champions Leicester City before season opener?

25 July 2016 14:07

He was one of many surprise packages at Leicester that elevated the club to the top of the Premier League table and won him personal accolades including the PFA Player of the Year gong in a sensational season.

The 25-year-old is subject to a £41.8m bid from the Gunners says reports in the Daily Mail with the manager sounding bullish about their prospects of keeping hold of their talismanic midfielder. Claudio Ranieri answered the speculation surrounding his player after their win against Celtic on Saturday.

'I understand speculation, but that's all it is.

'Did you see how happy Riyad looked? He played well, he worked so hard for the team, he scored a goal. He stays with us. Of course.

'For us it's very, very important to keep him because he is one of our stars. He is our fantasy – we can work hard but with him games change.'

The player seems focused on pre-season training and the task of defending their Premier League crown with teammate Demarai Gray insisting the player seems unfazed by the speculation surrounding his future .

'There is a lot of speculation around him but he doesn't seem to be bothered by any of that, does he?' Gray told the Evening Standard.

The French-born Algerian international joined the then Championship side Leicester from Ligue 2 outfit Le Havre in 2014, going on to make 90 appearances, scoring 25 goals (18 in 2015-16).

The Algerian joined the international setup in 2014 where he has earned 24 caps and scored 4 goals.

Leicester start the defence of their Premier League crown away at Hull City on the weekend of the 13th-14th August.

Source: DSG