Puel: Mahrez at a good level

Riyad Mahrez has impressed Leicester manager Claude Puel since his return from his self-imposed exile.

Mahrez asked to leave the club before the end of the January transfer window and was upset when the Foxes turned down an offer of £50m plus a player swap from Manchester City.

He went into exile, missing two games, but returned last Friday before being introduced as a second-half substitute in the 5-1 defeat to City at the Etihad Stadium.

Puel insists Mahrez is happy and has praised his attitude and work-rate in training.

When asked if Mahrez was performing well ahead of Friday’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Sheffield United, Puel said: “Yeah, I think better. He enjoys playing and training with his team-mates. He is at a good level and without problems.

“I think it is important now to put an end to the talking about Riyad. He has come back, he came in against Manchester City. Now we need to move on and for him, he has to kick on.

“The most important thing now is the future.”

Mahrez could feature when the Foxes host Sheffield United on Friday with Puel vowing to field a strong team against the Championship side.

“It will be a crucial game for us. I will pick a team to win the game, we want to get as far as we can in the FA Cup, of course. It will be a strong team like in the last rounds,” he explained.

Leicester City will host Sheffield United in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday, February 16.