Arsenal target Riyad Mahrez would consider Leicester exit for ‘two or three clubs’

Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez says only “two or three clubs” in the world could tempt him to leave the Premier League champions.

Mahrez had been linked with a move to Arsenal earlier this summer, though Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri has been confident the Algerian would stay with the Foxes.

In an interview with France Football, Mahrez said he would prefer to stay in England, though he could be tempted abroad by a select few teams.

“[The Premier League] is a super league and I would like to stay here as long as possible,” he said.

“Now, there are two or three clubs in the world, that if they come for me, it definitely makes you think, if you understand what I am trying to say.”

Mahrez also erased any doubt of a link to Chelsea, after he had been seen at the same hotel as Blues boss Antonio Conte last week.

Asked about that report, Mahrez said: “I don’t think about [the tabloids] too much. I’m not part of that world. I play football and then I go home.

“It’s true that, in England, they’re crazy about it. Last Sunday, after a game, we were in the same hotel as Chelsea and that was a story. They find the smallest detail to be a part of your life.

“I know how to deal with it. After all, I’m not David Beckham.”

Mahrez also had words of praise for Ranieri, who guided Leicester to the unlikeliest of Premier League titles last season.

“He immediately took me under his wing and gave me a lot of confidence,” Mahrez said. “And he has brought me to be more rigorous with my game. The result of that: last year, I defended like a crazy person.

“He made me understand that if one of us did not defend, we were dead. With him, I also timed better the moments where one needs to press, when one needs to peel off, things like that.”