BBC
Manchester City have agreed a £30m deal for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli to sign Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez.
The 32-year-old has been given permission not to travel on City’s pre-season trip to Japan and South Korea.
That had already been agreed providing City received a bid that matched their valuation of Mahrez, who had two years left on his contract.
City paid £60m for Mahrez in 2018 and he scored 15 goals from 47 games in the Blues’ Treble-winning season.
However, he was an unused substitute for both the FA Cup and Champions League finals and manager Pep Guardiola has opted to let him join the list of big-name recruits by the SPL this summer.
Liverpool have also agreed a £12m deal in principle worth £12m plus add-ons to sell England midfielder Jordan Henderson to Al-Ettifaq.
The likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Ruben Neves have already followed Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia this summer, while Steven Gerrard has been named Al-Ettifaq manager and Michael Emenalo has been appointed the SPL’s director of football.
The country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also taken over four of the SPL’s leading clubs, including Al-Ahli, as the league aims to become one of the top five in the world.
Mahrez is the only senior player to miss City’s trip to Asia.
The futures of England defender Kyle Walker, Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva and Spain defender Aymeric Laporte have all been the subject of speculation this summer.
However, all three are in Guardiola’s travelling squad for the pre-season games.
Reports in Germany have suggested Bayern Munich have agreed a deal for Walker, but it is thought they are wide of the mark.
Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo is also part of the City squad after Bayern chose not to take up the option of turning last season’s six-month loan into a permanent deal.
It is understood goalkeeper Zach Steffen is absent…
