Riyad Mahrez

[spursfast]

The other thing with Mahrez is that he'll get so much more space playing for us. You can't mark Eriksen, Kane, Alli and Mahrez. With Son and Lamela rotating for those four. Yes please

its all paper talk...

 

[Metalhead]

I'm not a big fan of Mahrez, but it would be funny to sign him just for the salty Leicester tears.

"They might have Mahrez but we still won the title and he'll never do that at Spurs." Guaranteed response.

 

[yanno]

Leicester fan forum:

Thats us fvcked. Rudders negotiating with Levy. That's Mahrez gone and we owe spuds 30m.

Would be funnny if mahrez went to spurs for 30 mill and they win champs league. Wenger would be burned at the stake

@goughie1966 - thanks. I particularly enjoyed the Leicester comments above.

I can't see us buying both Mahrez and Barkley.

Unlike some on here, I see Barkley as an AM, maybe rotating positionally like Eriksen to a wide starting position, but not as a CM. I don't think he has the discipline or positional awareness to play C/DM in a Poch team, and one of the Everton fans' biggest criticisms is the frequency with which he loses the ball in his own half.

So I think the noises about Mahrez represent either a genuine interest on our part, or an attempt to flush Everton out and force them to negotiate with Levy over Barkley.

Both players have considerable strengths and notable weaknesses. Mahrez might be a bigger risk than Barkley. From the outside, it looked like he threw the towel in last season and stopped playing for Leicester. On the other hand, he still scored 4 goals in 9 CL matches, and scored 17 in 37 PL matches the season before. Adding that kind of goalpower to our attacking set up would be welcome.

 

[Bosher]

Just the sort of player we need, but I wouldn't want him, or any of that Leicester team after the way they shafted Ranieri.

 

[Syn_13]

@goughie1966 - thanks. I particularly enjoyed the Leicester comments above.

I can't see us buying both Mahrez and Barkley.

Unlike some on here, I see Barkley as an AM, maybe rotating positionally like Eriksen to a wide starting position, but not as a CM. I don't think he has the discipline or positional awareness to play C/DM in a Poch team, and one of the Everton fans' biggest criticisms is the frequency with which he loses the ball in his own half.

So I think the noises about Mahrez represent either a genuine interest on our part, or an attempt to flush Everton out and force them to negotiate with Levy over Barkley.

Both players have considerable strengths and notable weaknesses. Mahrez might be a bigger risk than Barkley. From the outside, it looked like he threw the towel in last season and stopped playing for Leicester. On the other hand, he still scored 4 goals in 9 CL matches, and scored 17 in 37 PL matches the season before. Adding that kind of goalpower to our attacking set up would be welcome.

To be honest, I'd rather sign Mahrez than Barkley. Both had a crap season last year by their previous standards, but at their best Mahrez has outshone Barkley. I know they're different players and will give you something different, but I feel like a Mahrez type of player is what we need more than Barkley. More direct and will get you goals, and will be more likely to slot straight into the team whereas Barkley's position is already taken up by Eriksen, and to an extent, Alli. It's incredibly unlikely, but I'd be very happy picking up both.

 

[Spurzinho]

I would be incredibly disappointed if we signed Mahrez. The guy is definitely a time waster who, like many Leicester players, had an incredible 8 or 9 months but could only ever refind his lazy arse non-form afterwards. After us all slagging off the Spammers for signing Arnautovic, we would be left with egg all over our faces if we did this deal. He lacks drive, intensity, work rate, discipline, consistency and team ethic.

As you may have gathered I'm not a fan. This ranks alongside the Sissoko deal. For those with short attention spans they're deals that make a lot of sense and seem to improve us...if you pay attention you knew all along that Sissoko would be a disaster and that Mahrez would enjoy a similarly inglorious and ignominious stay with us before departing for some wretched and truly desperate lower table side like Stoke, West Brom or maybe a Sunderland.

 

[yanno]

To be honest, I'd rather sign Mahrez than Barkley. Both had a crap season last year by their previous standards, but at their best Mahrez has outshone Barkley. I know they're different players and will give you something different, but I feel like a Mahrez type of player is what we need more than Barkley. More direct and will get you goals, and will be more likely to slot straight into the team whereas Barkley's position is already taken up by Eriksen, and to an extent, Alli. It's incredibly unlikely, but I'd be very happy picking up both.

In terms of squad balance, I agree that Mahrez would give us more variety than Barkley.

I just worry about his determination and fighting spirit when the chips are down...

And a player who is consistently late for training, even when getting regularly fined, suggests a shambolic character.

 

[SDogg]

Pretty sure JJ has already dismissed this

 

[Syn_13]

In terms of squad balance, I agree that Mahrez would give us more variety than Barkley.

I just worry about his determination and fighting spirit when the chips are down...

And a player who is consistently late for training, even when getting regularly fined, suggests a shambolic character.

Fair points. I'm not a fan of those types of characters either.

 

[yanno]

I would be incredibly disappointed if we signed Mahrez. The guy is definitely a time waster who, like many Leicester players, had an incredible 8 or 9 months but could only ever refind his lazy arse non-form afterwards. After us all slagging off the Spammers for signing Arnautovic, we would be left with egg all over our faces if we did this deal. He lacks drive, intensity, work rate, discipline, consistency and team ethic.

As you may have gathered I'm not a fan. This ranks alongside the Sissoko deal. For those with short attention spans they're deals that make a lot of sense and seem to improve us...if you pay attention you knew all along that Sissoko would be a disaster and that Mahrez would enjoy a similarly inglorious and ignominious stay with us before departing for some wretched and truly desperate lower table side like Stoke, West Brom or maybe a Sunderland.

This is the case against signing Mahrez and it's well made.

We have a strong-minded coach who won't tolerate players who mess around in training, let alone matches.

We also have a strong dressing room who will give short shrift to players who aren't totally committed to the cause.

If it's Barkley or Mahrez, I think there's more chance of Barkley buying into our culture than Mahrez.

 

[SpartanSpur]

If he did you can be sure Spurs would f**k him up. They already have an absolute dearth of creativity and one guy to score goals. Riyad has proved that, in the right role, he can score his share...He wouldn't with them !

Yep that's right, the dearth of quality that made us the only PL team with 3 players passing the 20 goal mark

 

[Metalhead]

Semi relevant. The ACN's have now officially been moved to the summer. I know they were talking about it earlier but seems they've done it now. So we wouldnt have to worry about going 2 months mid season without him.
http://es.pn/2ue7iFb

If we can get it done for £25m or so, I think it would be a good signing. I think Poch can get him back to his best. Plus a salty Leicester is always funny.

25 million in today's ridiculous market would be very acceptable.

 

[Metalhead]

If he did you can be sure Spurs would f**k him up. They already have an absolute dearth of creativity and one guy to score goals. Riyad has proved that, in the right role, he can score his share...He wouldn't with them !

Yep that's right, the dearth of quality that made us the only PL team with 3 players passing the 20 goal mark

Oh come on, that can't be real. If it is then it's got to be deeply ironic. I really hate that kind of blinkered mentality that you get from football fans.

 

[Fan-at-ic!]

Pretty sure JJ has already dismissed this

So since JJ has dismissed it we should not talk about it...

 

[king26]

not a poch player

 

[yanno]

So since JJ has dismissed it we should not talk about it...

We all respect JJ. But there's conflicting ITK suggesting we do have interest in Mahrez.

hertyid on whether we are interested in mahrez :
We are. He is pushing hard for a move. Problem is they wanted Siggy to replace him and were quoted 50m. So not sure what price we could realistically get him for. Huge talent though and offers something we don't really have in the squad right now.

Needless to say, I highly doubt DL pays 50m.

 

[Fan-at-ic!]

I personally think Mahrez would be great for us and is just the type of player that would thrive at spurs!

And tbh I kind of think JJ has been a tad hit and miss recently and shouldn't just take his word as gospel...

 

[dagraham]

I see the tied is changing in here and more people are in favour of signing him just because we haven't signed anyone yet lol

I've been advocating his signing since the start of the window.

We need more genuine match winners and I don't buy the argument that he's a lazy, luxury player who simply couldn't work with Poch. Sissoko was supposed to be lazy and he hasn't been that in a Spurs shirt ( just a poor footballer unfortunately). I don't think many would have envisioned Eriksen pressing as well as he does when Poch first arrived either.

As for the rather have a fit Lamela argument, I shouldn't be surprised really. I love his commitment and he has some good qualities, but it seems the longer he's injured his cult status grows even stronger( although I didn't think that possible). We did quite well without him, but I suspect if we were signing Messi there would be some worried about Lamela's place in the squad.

Mahrez simply represents something we don't have in the squad. A match winning player, who can beat players at pace, with composure in the final third. And he's done it in the PL so not a risk that he won't adapt to the league.

 

[SDogg]

So since JJ has dismissed it we should not talk about it...

Didn't say that, just trying to set expectation

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

This is like Barkley but about ten times more complicated. I'll put my astonishingly lumpen testicles on the railroad track right now and claim it just is never going to happen