RIYAD MAHREZ has taken the first step towards his rehabilitation as a fully-functioning footballer by informing Leicester City he is ready to return to work.
Meanwhile club owners Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha will be walking on air after stubbornly refusing to buckle – despite having a loaded gun placed to their heads.
Mahrez may believe he has been calling the shots in his dispute with his wealthy Thai owners.
However inside the Foxes dressing room his team-mates will regard today’s U-turn as a capitulation.
And Mahrez might as well have been waving a white flag on his return to their Belvoir Road base.
The little Algerian might eventually get his wish move to Manchester City this summer.
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The cynic in me accepts there is a strong possibility such a scenario has already been discussed and agreed in secret talks between club and the player’s representatives.
But publicly, the Foxes owners have flexed their muscles and made it clear they will not be dictated to by a player – especially one with two-and-a-half years of his contract remaining.
RI-TURN OF THE MAH Wantaway Riyad Mahrez to return to Leicester training this morning and could face Manchester City
Mahrez may yet win the war, but the club’s powerbrokers have won this particular battle.
They have sent out a clear message to any other player who fancies a move that Leicester are no longer a selling club … unless it is on their terms.
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