‘Are we broke now?’, ‘£35m is a measly amount’ – Man City fans react as club want 21-year-old to replace Riyad Mahrez, but won’t be frantic over him

Manchester City reportedly see Michael Olise as ‘the one’ to replace Riyad Mahrez – but the club will not break the bank for him.

Mahrez has now left the Etihad Stadium after five seasons to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ahli. The Algeria international moves on to take up a new challenge and City are now tasked with moving forward without him.

Pep Guardiola must decide whether to dip into the transfer market. Or consider someone to play on the right from his current crop.

City have been linked with a couple of players since Mahrez’s departure – and Olise is apparently a player on the club’s radar. It’s been a little quiet on him lately, but journalist Sam Lee has now given an update.

The Athletic journalist who covers City, Sam Lee, was speaking on a new Let Me talk podcast episode.

He said: “They are looking for a winger. But it’s a bit like looking for a left-back after they didn’t get Marc Cucurella last summer.

“So Olise now… he is the one they’re looking at. But it’s not like, ‘yeah this is the guy we need to break the bank for’. Obviously with Declan Rice they were going to pay like £90-£100 million maybe. And they were very willing to do that. But just because they have the money doesn’t mean they’ll spend it. They won’t just go and buy two £50 million players. It depends on valuation.

“I think with Olise, they wouldn’t want to pay £50 million for him. And then obviously if Chelsea are interested and want to pay £50-£60 million then City just aren’t going to do it. Forget it.”

The report shared on Twitter gather a number of replies from a wide range of Man City supporters.

@Stones5ZN: “Shock “Man City won’t break the bank for Olise” they can’t even spend an extra few million on Gvardiol. Joke of a transfer window this.”

@Sal_MCI47: “Are we broke now?”

@Tomi2810_: 35million is a measly amount”

@Matias202520: “This man single handedly embarrassed prem teams last season, it would be a crime if we don’t sign him.”

@Balpande_Tejas: “If he can play in rotation and plays decent and helps in defence it’s a go to buy player…. Can be amazing under Pep.”

@MCFC_BH: “£35M is breaking the bank for Manchester City? Starting to feel like these guys have been doing shady stuff and are now trying to lay low”

@outmycircle: “We must think he’s arse, we dont have a winger and the only decent one on the market we dont even want to spend 40 mil on”

@delmi_sofiane: “Not as efficient as Mahrez but they both have similar profiles, his release clause is only 35 ffs just sign him.”