3 potential replacements for Riyad Mahrez at Leicester City

Riyad Mahrez has moved to the Premier League champions, Manchester City for a transfer fee of around £60m on 10 July 2018 on a five-year contract, thereby ending his stint at Leicester City. The Foxes now face an uphill task to find a suitable replacement for a player of the calibre of Riyad Mahrez.

Mahrez has been a key player for Leicester City ever since he joined the club. In January 2014, Mahrez signed for the English side, Leicester City, helping them win the Championship and promotion to the Premier League at the end of his first season.

However, his best season at Leicester City, without any doubt, was the 2015-2016 season, where he was instrumental in Leicester City winning the Premier League for the first time. Mahrez played on the right side for the vast majority of the time for Leicester City. Mahrez is left-footed and has all the attributes of a classic inverted winger.

He possesses great power in his left foot and often proved dangerous when shooting, after cutting in from the right-hand side. He is quick with or without the ball and has a very powerful and accurate shot as is evident from his goal-scoring record for Leicester.

Mahrez also possesses great passing ability and vision to find his teammates with either short or long balls in goal-scoring positions. He has also got exceptional dribbling skills, decent pace, and good ball control skills, thereby making him a complete player.

It will be very difficult to fill in the void left by Mahrez. However, let's look at some players who might just be up for the task.

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#3 Bertrand Traore

Bertrand Traore

The winger may not seem like an immediate replacement for Riyad Mahrez, but with age on his side, he has certainly got all the attributes to fill in the void left by the departure of Mahrez at Leicester City in the long run.

Traore is a footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Lyon, and the Burkina Faso national team. The Lyon winger is lightning quick and has an eye for goal, netting 18 goals for the Ligue 1 club Lyon last season.

At just 22, he has already racked up plenty of European experience and was a key player in Ajax’s run to the Europa League final in 2017. Traore can play as a centre-forward as well. Besides being a goal-scorer, he has also got good passing attributes and can find his teammates in goal-scoring positions, thereby fulfilling the role of a creator as well.

#2 Wilfried Zaha

Wilfried Zaha

The Ivorian has shown that he can be the match-winner on many occasions in the last season, so he should definitely be one of the players who can replace Riyad Mahrez.

Wilfried Zaha is a footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club, Crystal Palace and the Ivorian national team. It won’t be completely wrong to say that Wilfred Zaha is one of the most exciting players to watch outside of the big six clubs in the Premier League. The former Manchester United winger got nine goals in twenty-nine appearances with Crystal Palace last season in the league, which is quite a decent ratio for a winger.

While no one has ever questioned his skills, ability, his inconsistency appears to be his biggest downfall. However, off late, he has been very consistent. His biggest trait, however, is the element of unpredictability i.e on many occasions in the last season, he showed with Crystal Palace, that he can take matters into his own hands and make something happen from nothing, especially when his team is under pressure.

#1 Hakim Ziyech

Hakim Ziyech

Hakim Ziyech plays as a winger/attacking midfielder for Ajax and for the Morocco national team. He is famous for his technique, passing and free kick ability.

Over the past few seasons, Ziyech has averaged more than 10 goals and 10 assists in the Eredivisie. He”s brilliant with the ball at his feet and is very potent when it comes to distributing it as well. Ziyech has all the attributes to do the job that Mahrez has done for so long at Leicester, but the Moroccan will definitely not come for cheap.

However, if Leicester City's management and Claude Puel are looking to find an immediate replacement for Riyad Mahrez, then Ziyech should definitely be an option worth considering.