Manchester City close to sealing Riyad Mahrez and Jorginho transfers - reports

Posted Friday, June 01, 2018 by ESPN

Manchester City are hoping to soon complete the signings of Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez and Napoli midfielder Jorginho, according to multiple reports.

The BBC reported City would pay about £60 million for Mahrez and £42m for Jorginho, with both deals possibly completed as soon as the end of next week.

City have long been in pursuit of Mahrez, having seen a cash-plus-player offer of £65 million for the 27-year-old rejected in January, with Leicester demanding £80m to let him go in the middle of the season.

The Algeria international handed in a transfer request and had a 10-day absence from the club before returning to training with them on Feb. 9. He then came on as a substitute the next day, having missed the previous two games, as Leicester were beaten 5-1 away by Pep Guardiola's City, and featured in every match for the Foxes for the rest of the season.

Mahrez, who was named PFA Player of the Year in 2015-16 when Leicester were crowned Premier League champions, has played at the King Power Stadium since January 2014 and is under contract for two more seasons until the summer of 2020.

Riyad Mahrez went on strike after his proposed move to Manchester City broke down earlier in the year.

Jorginho, 26, scored against City in November in the Champions League group stage. The Brazilian-born Italy international has played for Napoli since a transfer from Hellas Verona in January 2014.

"We know that an offer from Manchester City has reached Napoli," Jorginho's agent Joao Santos said on Wednesday. "We are waiting for a response from the Azzurri, who don't seem to have rejected the offer. If Napoli find an agreement with City, we'll go from there."

According to the Times, Jorginho has already agreed personal terms on a five-year contract worth about £75,000 a week. Napoli rejected City's initial €45m (£39.3m) offer for the player while asking for €55m (£48.2m), and the clubs are now looking at a €48m (£42m) compromise.

A deal for Jorginho will have to wait until he completes his international duty with Italy, who failed to qualified for the World Cup but play friendlies against France on Friday and Netherlands on Monday.

He appears out of the plans of new Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti, who replaced Maurizio Sarri last week.