Barcelona, PSG interested in signing Manchester City winger

With the move for Erling Haaland now seemingly off, Barcelona are looking at other possible ways to strengthen their attacking unit in the summer transfer window.

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has suddenly emerged as a viable option due to his contract situation at Anfield, At the same time, though, the Catalan giants are keeping their options open and have set their sights on a move for Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez.

As reported by Fichajes, the Algerian international is considering his future at the Etihad Stadium, amid the club’s pursuit of Erling Haaland. With the Citizens set to make a massive outlay on the Norwegian international, they will need to make cuts to the squad.

Mahrez, to that end, has emerged as an option that the Premier League champions might look to sell, despite his impressive form this season. Indeed, the 31-year-old has scored 21 goals and set up seven more in 35 games across all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side this term.

But, with Haaland’s potential arrival, his game-time could take a hit as City would move away from a false-nine system, meaning Guardiola will have to utilise the likes of Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva on the flanks more regularly.

Barça are keeping tabs on his situation and could decide to make a move by spending the money that was initially allocated to sign Haaland. Mahrez could be seen as a replacement for Ousmane Dembele, whose contract stands to expire at the end of the season.

As for Mahrez, his deal with Manchester City runs out in 2023, meaning he will be in the last year of his contract soon. It is only likely to make him an even more appealing target for the Blaugrana but they will face competition from PSG in his pursuit.

The French giants are set to lose both Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria this summer and see Mahrez as an option to plug the hole on the right flank. Furthermore, there is interest from Juventus also, further complicating matters for the Catalan giants.

While he is not a top target as things stand, a player of Mahrez’s quality would certainly help Barcelona to a great extent. Whether the interest in him transpires into a summer move, however, remains to be seen.