Monchi: ‘No Roma for Mahrez’

Roma director of sport Monchi explained why they won’t ask Leicester City for Riyad Mahrez again. “The only reason he didn’t come…”

The former Sevilla chief spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport, you can read the rest of the interview here and here.

Monchi was brought in as a transfer wizard, but even he could not get Leicester City to part with Mahrez this summer.

Roma director of sport Monchi explained why they won’t ask Leicester City for Riyad Mahrez again. “The only reason he didn’t come…”

The former Sevilla chief spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport, you can read the rest of the interview here and here.

Monchi was brought in as a transfer wizard, but even he could not get Leicester City to part with Mahrez this summer.

“We wanted a left-footed winger to replace Mohamed Salah and put it all on Mahrez, but the only reason he didn’t come was because the club wouldn’t sell. It’s not an excuse, they said no to Barcelona too.

“Once Mahrez was off the table, we looked around and decided it was better to go for Patrik Schick, who was not the ideal profile for that role, but would be an investment for the club. It would’ve been a mistake in my view to give up on Schick just for tactical reasons.”

Monchi was asked if Roma would try again for Mahrez in January, considering Leicester City’s difficulties.

“We won’t do anything in January. Our new buys must be the improvements from Gregoire Defrel and Cengiz Under, the arrival of Schick and the return of Emerson Palmieri.”