Mahrez frustrated by Leicester's secrecy in transfer saga

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Leicester City managed to hold on to Riyad Mahrez in pre-season, but he was left frustrated with how they handled his desire to leave.

Riyad Mahrez was left frustrated by Leicester City "blocking stuff behind the scenes" when he wanted to leave the club.

The Algeria winger was persuaded to remain at Leicester after their Premier League triumph, but he failed to recapture his scintillating form from that campaign last season.

But it never materialised, with Mahrez adamant that Leicester were not telling him the whole story with regards to trying to sell him, convinced the club were "blocking" potential transfers.

"I wanted to be transparent, not play people around, be honest about it," he told the Daily Mail.

"N'Golo [Kante] had a [release] clause and when he left they stopped those clauses. They said they would never give one to anyone after that.

"They didn't want to sell me. They said, 'yes, [there will be] no problem if something comes up.'

"But behind the scenes they were blocking stuff — talking to clubs but just not wanting to sell me.

"But I'm confident. Contract or no contract, I believe I will get to the top. When you have quality, and show it, there's no problem."