Man City might as well have issued a club statement alongside their summer tour squad yesterday. Pep Guardiola has taken a 25-man squad to Tokyo for the first stage of the pre-season schedule, with Riyad Mahrez conspicuous in his absence.
While his teammates flew East, his omission signalled an imminent move to the Middle East that will bring a trophy-laden spell in Manchester to an end.
City would have liked to keep the Algerian ace as they look for consistency heading into the new campaign, but they accept that he wants to leave and that the fee represents good value for a player who is already 32 and gradually on the decline. CITY SUMMER TOUR: A 30-hour trip and sweltering heat in Tokyo Club chiefs will now accelerate plans to replace him once a move to Al Ahli is confirmed, but just as important is ensuring they don’t have another attacker to replace this summer.
While there was always some room for Mahrez to leave this summer, it feels like Bernardo Silva is now absolutely unsellable as City look to keep their balance across the precarious tightrope of evolving their squad without having to start again from scratch.