Tuesday 15 August 2017 20:25, UK
Leicester City's bosses are becoming increasingly bemused by what they see as Roma's attempts to unsettle Riyad Mahrez in the hope they may be able to lure him to Serie A, according to Sky sources.
The Foxes do not want to sell Mahrez and have rejected three bids so far from the Italian club - the latest of which was around £32m over a week ago, which Sky Sports News was told is still way below Leicester's valuation of the player.
According to Sky in Italy, Roma have given up signing Mahrez after failing to agree a price with Leicester City, despite setting the Premier League club a Tuesday deadline for their previous £31m club-record offer.
Sky Sports News understands Leicester will be more reluctant to sell Mahrez the later the window goes on because of the difficulty in replacing a player of his quality.
Roma have chased Mahrez all summer after the 26-year-old confirmed he wanted to leave the King Power Stadium.
Mahrez, who arrived at Leicester for just £560,000 from French Ligue 2 side Le Havre in 2014, played 90 minutes in the Foxes' Premier League opening-day defeat at Arsenal despite announcing his intention to leave.
The Algeria inernational's agent had been trying to persuade Roma to increase their offer to Leicester to £40m with the inclusion of add-ons, according to Sky in Italy.
Sky sources have revealed Mahrez does not want to move to Serie A, preferring instead to move to another club in the Premier League.
Mahrez has maintained he is happy to stay at Leicester throughout the window, if no suitable club comes in for him.
