Al-Ahli 'agree £34.7m fee with Manchester City to sign Riyad Mahrez'

Manchester City have reportedly reached an agreement with Al-Ahli to sell winger Riyad Mahrez for a fee totalling to €40m (£34.7m).

The Saudi Arabian club had previously seen an offer of £18m for the Algeria international rejected by the Citizens, who had been keen to keep hold of the 32-year-old.

However, The Athletic reports that Al-Ahli have returned with an improved bid of €35m (£30.4m) plus €5m (£4.3m) in add-ons, and it has been accepted by Man City.

The Citizens revealed on Wednesday afternoon that Mahrez has not been named in a 25-man travelling squad for their pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.

Mahrez is instead set to undergo a medical in the Middle East on Thursday ahead of his big-money move to the Saudi Pro League club.

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The winger has agreed to put pen to paper on a three-year contract with Al-Ahli that includes a conditional fourth year, and it is thought that he could be earning in the region of €30m per season.

Mahrez is set to become the third high-profile name to swap the Premier League for Al-Ahli after Edouard Mendy and Roberto Firmino, who joined the club from Chelsea and Liverpool respectively earlier this summer.

Ah-Ahli are also in advanced talks to sign another Premier League winger in the form of Newcastle United's Allan Saint-Maximin, with manager Eddie Howe confirming on Tuesday that the Frenchman is close to joining the Saudi club.

Since joining Man City from Leicester City for around £60m in the summer of 2018, Mahrez has made 236 appearances for Pep Guardiola's side in all competitions, scoring 78 goals and registering 59 assists.

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Mahrez was a standout performer in Man City's triumphant FA Cup campaign last season, scoring five goals in as many matches, including a semi-final hat-trick against Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium.

The Algerian was also one of only six Premier League players to reach double figures for assists last season, registering 10 in total as well as chipping in with five goals in 30 games.

However, City's No.26 only started 11 Premier League matches last season, while he struggled for game time in the latter stages of the Champions League, playing for just 11 minutes from the quarter-final stage through to the final victory over Inter Milan, which he watched as an unused substitute.

Mahrez is set to depart the Etihad Stadium after winning a total of 11 trophies across a five-year period including four Premier League titles.

Man City are understood to have identified RB Leipzig attacker and Spain international Dani Olmo as a potential replacement for Mahrez.

Meanwhile, the Citizens have reportedly reached a full agreement with Leipzig to sign defender Josko Gvardiol, who has already completed the first part of his medical.