Roma Make Yet Another Mahrez Bid

By now, you’re no doubt familiar with Roma’s Melvillian search for a right winger, one now entering its third month. After parting with prized pupil Mohamed Salah, who was slowly morphing his way into one of the top right wingers in the world, Monchi has been desperately searching the seven seas looking for a reasonable facsimile of Roma’s erstwhile Egyptian. Alas, this search has been to no avail thus far, as Roma has been rebuked time and time again for players ranging from Lucas Silva to Lucas Moura and every Lucas in between. Incidentally, go watch Lucas, it’s a great 80s film.

Of course, the prime target in this hunt has always been Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez, for whom Roma has lodged several bids now, starting with their low ball offer of €23 million which was made sometime around March or in 1996, I’m not quite sure. After laughing off their first three attempts, Leicester are still holding firm in their €50 million-ish valuation of Mahrez. Why on earth Roma goes full bore for Vazquez, offering €30 million off the bat, but remains entangled in a game of ring around the rosie for their supposed top target is beyond me, but here we are.

Due to their inability or unwillingness to come within sniffing distance of Leicester’s asking price, Roma have yet again submitted a formal bid for Mahrez, believed to be €35 million, which, while it would break Roma’s transfer record, is still a long ways off the Foxes price tag.

For my two cents, I say pack it up, Roma. Mahrez is not worth this hassle; he’s the mediocre third baseman who yolked up one summer and nearly doubled his homerun total and now he’s looking to cash in when all common sense and good reason suggests it was an anomaly.

But I don’t run the club, so we’re probably looking at three more weeks of this story; Leicester won’t break simply because they don’t have to, and, let’s face it, Mahrez doesn’t have a ton of options, which in itself is quite telling—why aren’t more clubs after him?

Hmm...Either way, Roma needs someone to fill that role because if it’s Gregoire Defrel, then, mon dieu, we’re in for a long season.