Is Mahrez tarnishing his legacy at Leicester?

Signed from Le Havre for just £400,000 in 2014 when Leicester were looking to reclaim Premier League football after a period in the wilderness that is the Championship, few knew what to expect of the Algerian. At that point, Mahrez's only previous experience of English football was an unsuccessful trial at Scottish minnows St Mirren.

However, the 26-year-old proved a shrewd purchase by then-boss Nigel Pearson, helping Leicester to promotion that season and safety the next.

It was the 2015/16 season that most onlookers will remember the 26-year-old for though, a year which saw the fleet-footed winger announce himself on the world stage as he fired a Leicester side that was 5000/1 to win the Premier League title to one of the biggest shocks in sporting history.

It wasn't just Leicester fans that were in awe of his performances either, with Mahrez claiming the PFA Player of the Year award at the end of that season.

Since then, the likes of N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater have moved on to pastures new, but it is Mahrez who has caused the most friction with the fans who used to sing his name.

- Deadline Day Depression - 

Manchester City made a shock swoop for the Algeria international in the closing stages of the January window, seeing a couple of bids turned down by Leicester, who refused to lose one of their prize assets for lower than their valuation.

Seeing a move to one of the strongest teams in Europe of late collapse before his very eyes led Mahrez to express his disappointment, saying that he was "depressed" by what had happened and subsequently refusing to train in the days that followed.

To this date, Mahrez has missed two matches and four training sessions for Leicester, with his hero status among the 'Foxes' fans diminishing with each passing day.

Since the arrival of Claude Puel, Mahrez has refound the sort of form that saw him mooted as a potential Ballon d'Or winner just a few years ago, having scored six goals in his last 11 Premier League games.

The club are under no pressure to sell their star man, with the winger tied to the club until the summer of 2020.

Mahrez has established himself as one of the Premier League's most exciting forward players in the last few years, with only much-vaunted duo Kevin De Bruyne and Mesut Ozil having created more 'big chances' than ther Leicester man since the 2015/16 season.

- The Situation - 

Leicester find themselves in a precarious position. Whilst they would not doubt like to slap sanctions on Mahrez, the use of the term "depressed" means that they must be sensitive to a potential mental health issue, whilst Mahrez's claims that the club have now promised to allow him to leave no fewer than four times before changing their mind also leads to sympathy for the player.

With Mahrez's value likely to drop further the longer his self-imposed exile lasts, Leicester will be keen to bring an end to the strike sooner rather than later, whilst the player will doubtless become a less attractive prospect as a potential signing whilst he continues his strike.

It is a difficult situation for both parties and it seems that a resolution is not on the horizon, with suggestions that Mahrez will once again be absent for Leicester's game against Manchester City on Saturday.