• Winger has insisted he be allowed to leave the club • Former PFA Player of Year says he is ‘ambitious’ to move on

Riyad Mahrez has shocked Leicester City by announcing he wants to leave in the summer transfer window.

Mahrez, the former PFA Player of the Year who was instrumental in Leicester’s Premier League triumph in 2016, has issued a statement stating he is “fiercely ambitious” and feels “this is the time for me to move on”. The 26-year-old has attracted interest in the past from clubs including Arsenal, Monaco and Barcelona, with Mahrez’s representatives having agreed a new four-year contract at Leicester last summer. However, a statement from the Algeria international confirmed his wish to depart the club who signed him for £400,000 from Le Havre in 2014.

“Out of the huge admiration and respect I hold for Leicester City I wanted to be totally honest and transparent with them and have therefore informed the club I feel now is the time for me to move on,” read the statement. “I had a good discussion with the chairman last summer and we agreed at that time I would stay for another year in order to help the club as best as I could following the transition of winning the title and in the Champions League.

“However, I am fiercely ambitious and feel now is the time to move on to a new experience. I’ve always enjoyed a good relationship with the chairman and everyone at the club, and I hope I have been able to repay the faith shown to me by my performances and commitment on the pitch during my time here.”

Leicester are also yet to announce the future of Craig Shakespeare after talks with the owners this week. Shakespeare’s short-term deal, which he signed after replacing Claudio Ranieri as manager in February, expires next month.

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Tottenham were linked with an approach for Mahrez in January but it is understood they have no interest in signing him, with Monaco’s Thomas Lemar among the chief targets for their manager, Mauricio Pochettino.