Riyad Mahrez Has Got Himself A New Nickname After Summer Transfer Fell Through

Posted Saturday, September 23, 2017 by thesportbible.com

Riyad Mahrez tried desperately to leave Leicester City in the summer window, and upon linking up with his teammates, manager Craig Shakespeare revealed the winger has earned himself a new nickname.

The former Le Havre man handed in a transfer request at the King Power Stadium in the summer and was subject to strong interest and three bids from Serie A side AS Roma, all of which were rejected by Leicester.

Riyad Mahrez tried desperately to leave Leicester City in the summer window, and upon linking up with his teammates, manager Craig Shakespeare revealed the winger has earned himself a new nickname.

Riyad Mahrez Has Got Himself A New Nickname After Summer Transfer Fell Through

And Shakespeare has been talking about the Mahrez situation, and says the 26-year old was likened to Tom Hanks in the film 'Terminal', where character Viktor Navorski is refused entry into the United States.

Speaking to The Telegraph, he said:

"I was sitting at home and got a phone call from Jon [Rudkin] saying the Algerian FA had given Riyad permission to miss the game.

"It was a real knife-edge time and we were in the hands of other people. We understood he wanted to move because he'd made it clear but the owners wanted a realistic price.

"Dealing with that was another moment in the managerial experience. He came back to training after the window closed and we were calling him Tom Hanks out of 'The Terminal'."

Mahrez has played every minute of every Premier League game Leicester have played this season, registering two assists.