Roma sporting director Monchi plays down Riyad Mahrez links

Roma fans were dealt a blow after the club's sporting director Monchi went on record to say that they have not made any progress in signing Riyad Mahrez.

Roma were thought to have agreed on a €38 million fee with Leicester City for the Algerian winger, with only a medical stopping the move from being official. Leicester demanded €40 million but were believed to have been very open to Roma's latest bid of €38 million.

However, the club's sporting director Monchi has come on record to rubbish those reports and rumours in a press conference, being quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport as saying: "The situation with Mahrez has not changed."

"I would like to say a couple of things, though. A club like Roma, who can boast the calibre of players like Pellegrini, Strootman, Nainggolan, Dzeko, Fazio or Kolarov, cannot think that their overall performance is going to depend on the arrival of just one specific right-winger."

"The second message I wanted to give is that I don't know if Mahrez or somebody else will come but, whoever arrives, he will be a big player who is able to add quality to an already magnificent squad."

Monchi then went on to say that the club needs a left-footer who cuts in and shoot as opposed to a right-footer, which is clearly pointing towards a replacement for Mohamed Salah, who joined Liverpool.

The delay is likely due to Leicester's reluctant stance to lower their asking price of Mahrez. The club would know that Roma is desperate to get a replacement and with the transfer window coming to an end, the Italian giants could end up lodging a larger bid for the Algerian.