Graeme Le Saux: Why Chelsea shouldn’t sign Premier League’s star midfielder

Graeme Le Saux has urged Chelsea to forget about signing Leicester City midfielder Riyad Mahrez and focus on bringing through some of their younger players.

The defending Premier League champions have been linked with a £25m move for the Leicester playmaker as Guus Hiddink looks to get the west London side’s season back on track.

They’ve got Pedro, Hazard, Oscar and Willian so I don’t necessarily see Mahrez fitting into that as a matter of urgency

Graeme Le Saux

Mahrez has been one of the outstanding players in the Premier League so far this season after an impressive return of 13 goals and seven assists in 21 top-flight games.

However, former Chelsea defender Le Saux doesn’t believe there is room for Mahrez in Hiddink’s starting line-up given the presence of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian.

“I don’t look at the Chelsea side and say they are in need of a massive overhaul,” said Le Saux, speaking exclusively to 888poker.com.

“A lot of it is the form and morale of the players. I look at the whole squad and they’ve got about 30 players out on loan and younger players in need of an opportunity to play and their first team won the Premier League last year.

“So who do they then add to make them better? They’ve got Pedro, Hazard, Oscar and Willian so I don’t necessarily see Mahrez fitting into that as a matter of urgency.

“They’ve got plenty of options available to them to get the formula right without going out and buying more players.”

Mahrez missed a penalty in Leicester’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

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The Algerian midfielder is expected to be in action against Tottenham Hotspur in their FA Cup third-round replay at King Power Stadium on Wednesday night.

To read the full interview, head to 888poker.com