Riyad Mahrez is ready to cut short his holidays so he can be available for the start of the Premier League season at Manchester City, insiders claim. The Etihad winger kicked his final ball of last season when leading Algeria to Africa Cup of Nations glory against Senegal last weekend.
City boss Pep Guardiola has since handed Mahrez three weeks off and he will miss the Community Shield game against Liverpool at Wembley on August 4. The £60m man, however, has told pals he wants to make himself available to his manager when the Citizens kick-off their latest title defence away to West Ham on August 10. Mahrez was used sparingly last term following his arrival from Leicester and sources close to the player have hinted he still feels ‘relatively fresh’.
His City team-mate Bernardo Silva did something similar last summer after the World Cup with Portugal, impressing Guardiola no end with his desire to help out his club team-mates. A Mahrez source said: “Riyad was really enjoying his time at City towards the end of last season and doesn’t want to lose all the momentum he has managed to build up.”
