Riyad Mahrez must keep his standards up or I’ll drop him, says Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare warns his wantaway star
Unsettled attacker who has been chased by Arsenal in the past two seasons is told to focus after he revealed his desire to leave
CRAIG SHAKESPEARE has warned wantaway winger Riyad Mahrez: Drop your standards and I’ll drop you!
Arsenal have been linked to the 26-year-old Algerian for the past two summers.
But boss Arsene Wenger is unwilling to meet Leicester’s £50million valuation and rates the forward at £35m.
Mahrez brought matters to a head in May when he broke ranks and issued a statement confirming he wanted to leave.
But the Foxes have not received a single bid for the 2016 PFA Player of the Year, who returned to training yesterday.
King Power chief Shakey expects to resolve the situation during showdown talks at the team’s pre-season training camp in Austria next week.
He said: “If he’s selected he has to perform and if he doesn't show commitment he won’t play.
“Having made that statement it’s how you’re accepted by the other players.
“Ultimately he’s got a contract with us and he has to understand that — he has to be professional. We haven’t had any bids and if we don’t have one, we’ve no decision to make.”
Shakespeare hopes Mahrez will be back in a Leicester shirt for the club’s trip to Hong Kong to play in the Premier League Asia Trophy later this month.
He added: “He’ll go to Austria and Hong Kong. Will he play? I’m open-minded.
“Knowing what Riyad’s capable of and the tight links he’s got within our group, they will be fine with him. The players understand the reasons why he came out with what he did.
“I need to sit down with him and find out what’s in his head and how he feels. We’ve always had a decent relationship.
“I know he’s ambitious and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
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