Riyad Mahrez has no idea what position Pep Guardiola will play him in after joining Manchester City
City’s £60 club-record signing is yet to discuss where his new manager sees him fitting in to his grand plans
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Riyad Mahrez admitted that he does not know how Pep Guardiola sees him fitting in to the Premier League-winning Manchester City, but has confidence in his own abilities to make a success of his move after sealing a £60m club-record transfer.
The 27-year-old finally got his wish after leaving Leicester City this week, a year after handing in the first of two transfer requests that were both rejected by the former Premier League champions.
With Mahrez joining what is already the strongest team in England based on last season’s success – City also won the League Cup – playing time in the first team is not an automatic guarantee, particularly with the likes of Kevin De Brurne, Leroy Sane, David Silva and Raheem Sterling all set to directly compete with the Algeria international for selection this season.
But he stressed that the thought has not crossed his mind yet, with finalising what have been drawn-out talks at the top of his priority list up until now.
"I never thought about this. I am very confident about myself,” Mahrez said when asked about his position.
"What they have done is amazing work. They broke all the records in the Premier League."
Despite the riches that City enjoy under their Abu Dhabi owners, Mahrez’s fee comes as the most expensive deal in City’s history, eclipsing the £57m that they spent to spring Aymeric Laporte from his Athletic Bilbao contract.
But the extra pressure that comes with such an expensive deal doesn’t faze Mahrez, who is particularly relishing the chance to return to the Champions League following Leicester European fairy tale journey in 2016/17.
"The prices have been big in every country. This does not affect me,” he added. "The Champions League is for big clubs, they're a big club. They have everything to try to win the Champions League."
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