Claudio Ranieri: 'Riyad Mahrez wants to stay at Leicester City'

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has described winger Riyad Mahrez as a "king", but warned that the Algerian will have to cope with the extra pressure on his shoulders now.

Mahrez has been in scintillating form so far this season, scoring 13 goals to help the Foxes to the top of the Premier League table at Christmas.

His performances have drawn interest from the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal ahead of the January transfer window, but Ranieri insists that the 24-year-old is happy at the King Power Stadium.

"He wants to stay with us, we want to keep him and that's it. He has to improve and when he improves, the team improves and when that happens why would he want to go away? He's a king here," Ranieri told reporters.

"He can grow with the team because if you stay at the bottom and fight no-one knows you but now everybody is talking about you and that is maybe a bit of pressure.

"You have to manage this kind of pressure. It's important for him to manage this stress. It's important he understands on the pitch is one thing and the TVs and newspapers are another thing."

Leicester will look to make it 11 Premier League games unbeaten when they take on Liverpool at Anfield on Boxing Day.