Claudio Ranieri has said that he believes that Riyad Mahrez will stay at Leicester and that would seem to put an end to any transfer speculation.

The Leicester manager has been pretty on the nose with his comments regarding the plethora of Foxes’ players who have been linked with a move away so it seems to me that if he has a good track record there’s no reason why we should doubt his comments now.

“Yes, he wants to stay,” Ranieri told Sky Sports.

“I think everybody here is happy and then it’s finished, the market has finished.”

Just 25, the PFA Players’ Player of the Year was thought to be looking for a way out of the club in order to test himself at a higher level but it seems as if this could all just be paper speculation.

A price tag of £45m had been mentioned in relation to the Algerian, but regardless of the fact that Arsenal probably wouldn’t pay more for Mahrez after one great season and another very good one than they did for Mesut Ozil, none of that matters now.

Of course, Mahrez could well change his mind but, for now, I think it’s safe to put this rumour to bed.