Barcelona have earmarked Leicester City ace Riyad Mahrez as a potential summer signing but will be required to pay at least £40m for his signature, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Mahrez was voted PFA Player of the Year last season after playing a star role in Leicester’s shock Premier League title win but has struggled to hit the same heights this season.
The Algeria international’s performances have notably improved since Claudio Ranieri was sacked and Craig Shakespeare was promoted as manager and has previously stated his desire of one day playing for Barcelona.
Mahrez only signed a new £100,000-a-week contract at the start of the season and Leicester will seek to get maximum value for the 26-year-old if Barcelona firm up their interest with a formal bid at the end of the season.
The Leicester ace has generally reserved his best performances for the Champions League this season and Barcelona will better inspection of the tricky winger when the Foxes face Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals next month.
In fact, of all Premier League players that have featured in the Champions League this season, only three have secured a higher WhoScored rating than Mahrez (7.55), who has scored or assisted six goals in seven appearances in the competition thus far.
For more stats on Riyad Mahrez, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
