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Manchester City have ended their interest in signing Riyad Mahrez because they were unwilling to match Leicester City's £95 million valuation, sources have told ESPN FC. City held talks with Leicester over the possibility of signing the winger but decided to walk away with the Foxes unwilling to lower their demands. ESPN FC has been told that City were prepared to pay up to £60m for the 2016 Premier League player of the year but never submitted a formal bid. Mahrez, 26, was keen on a move to the Etihad Stadium and handed in a transfer request to try to force through a move, ESPN FC has been told. According to reports, he did not train with his teammates on Tuesday, before Leicester's trip to Everton in the Premier League. Mahrez was identified as a target late in the window after City pulled the plug on trying to sign Alexis Sanchez earlier in the window, who instead moved from Arsenal to Manchester United in a swap deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. City insist the move for Mahrez was not a reaction to the ankle injury sustained to Leroy Sane, who has been ruled out for up to seven weeks with ligament damage. They did a complete a £57m club record move for Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte, 23, during the transfer window but insist they are prepared to walk away if deals are too expensive.
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