Did Mahrez ruin potential Manchester City move by missing training at Leicester?

Riyad Mahrez seems to have shot himself in the foot.

The Leicester City star reportedly finally returned to training following a failed move to Manchester City on deadline day of the January transfer window, but will likely miss a meeting with his desired outfit when the two teams face each other on Saturday.

On Wednesday, the Professional Footballers' Association offered to mediate between Mahrez and Leicester City in an effort to resolve any lingering issues and return the man to training - or to at least address the Algeria winger's refusal in a constructive manner.

PFA intervention or Mahrez's return to training aren't likely to reverse the damage done by this series of events. For, in refusing to knuckle down and contribute to the Foxes' cause, Mahrez might have scuppered his summertime switch to Manchester.

For Mahrez, being forced to remain at King Power Stadium may seem unfair. Certainly, the fact that his teammates N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater were given the green light to join Chelsea will rub him the wrong way. The 26-year-old is currently contracted to the Foxes until 2020, though he has handed in transfer requests in the last two windows. Reports on deadline day put a hefty figure of £95 million on his head, and despite its rich coffers, Manchester City balked at the price - though the club did reportedly table multiple offers in excess of £50 million for Mahrez's services.

Leicester will be happy to get even half that number come July, given present circumstances. The Foxes are the biggest losers in this whole debacle, having seen their star man's value slashed because of his behaviour. Perhaps Claude Puel's side will look back on a January now past and regret not selling Mahrez, though who could have predicted the player would react in that way?

Regardless of the outcome of any mediation, Mahrez will certainly be sold this summer. There's no coming back from a situation like this, barring the sort of turnaround in affections seen only in a Hollywood romance.

There are no two ways about it: Mahrez's reported refusal to train is inexcusable. As a result, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is now faced with a question he didn't have to consider during the winter window: Is Mahrez worth the trouble?

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Sure, Manchester City's wide ranks - currently manned by the trio of Bernardo Silva, Leroy Sane, and Raheem Sterling - could use a fourth high-quality star in Mahrez, a proven Premier League winner with game-changing skill. But he's by no means the only talented footballer available to Guardiola next summer. Other names will now surely emerge.

Mahrez won't be guaranteed playing time at City, and another question the Catalan tactician must consider is how committed the player will be to his team's cause if he is not a key figure to it.

Had Mahrez immediately returned to training and commenced playing, he could have answered any questions about his worth on Saturday. It was an opportunity to show Manchester City exactly why it ought to pay a large fee to pry him away from the Foxes come summertime.

Instead, his absence might serve only to make him a forgotten man when the next window opens.