Leicester have rejected an offer for Riyad Mahrez, according to reports in Italy.

The reports coming out of Sky Italy and covered by Marca state that AS Roma have made a £17.5m bid for the 26-year-old, and that this has been turned down by Leicester, who are looking for an offer closer to £26m.

Whilst Arsenal have been repeatedly linked with Mahrez for over a year now, all reliable reports have ruled out that Arsenal have made any kind of bid for the Algerian.

If the links to Thomas Lemar come to nothing, then it’s possible that Arsenal will then move for the Leicester man, but at this stage the interest in him appears to be nothing more than that.

AS Roma are apparently looking to take advantage of the delay in any interest being made formal by Premier League clubs with this reported bid. However, whether they would be willing to pay £26m for a man who has only had one truly class league season in his career remains to be seen.

There also remains a possibility that the player’s agent is leaking interest in his client to the media to try and convince clubs like Arsenal to make a move.

For now, Riyad will continue his pre-season preparations for Leicester’s trip to the Emirates.