Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has described Riyad Mahrez as 'a king' after his agent insisted he would be staying at the Premier League leaders. 

Mahrez has been key to Leicester's stunning surge to the top of the table, scoring 13 league goals.

Unsurprisingly his performances have led to speculation of a move away from Leicester, but agent Kamel Bengougam has been adamant the Algeria international will not be going anywhere in January.

Ranieri said: "He wants to stay with us, we want to keep him and that's it.

"He has to improve and when he improves, the team improves and when that happens why would he want to go away? He's a king here.

"He can grow with the team because if you stay at the bottom and fight no-one knows you but now everybody is talking about you and that is maybe a bit of pressure.

"You have to manage this kind of pressure. It's important for him to manage this stress. It's important he understands on the pitch is one thing and the TVs and newspapers are another thing."