Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has confirmed wantaway defender Wesley Fofana will remain out of the side for this weekend’s clash with Chelsea.
The Frenchman’s future is a source of constant speculation at present, with Saturday’s opponents launching an aggressive approach to sign the defender. Thus far, the Blues have seen three bids knocked back by the Foxes - the latest of which was worth a total fee of £70million.
However, with Leicester only receiving £60m of that up-front with the rest in potential add-ons, bosses at the King Power were happy to reject it. Fofana is desperate to complete the move before the September 1 deadline and is no longer training with the Leicester first-team.
Speaking earlier this week Rodgers revealed that Fofana was now with the Under 23s after he failed to show for a session earlier in the week. The 21-year-old was also left out of the Foxes defeat at Southampton, with his manager admitting he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to play.
"In terms of Wesley, just a young player who is not quite in the right frame of mind at the moment to play," Rodgers said after the 2-1 loss. “A lot going on behind the scenes, which I understand. It's a difficult moment for him.
"He's a good kid, he's been great for us whilst he's been here and at this moment it's a difficult one for him. You can't afford that, certainly playing a Premier League game if you're not 100 per cent fully focused."
And Rodgers has now suggested he will continue to leave out Fofana for the game against the team chasing his signature and likely won’t return until the window has closed. “He won’t be available for the weekend. He has trained with our Under-21 squad,” he explained.
“For me, it’s always about the commitment and when the players are ready to commit to the ethos of the team. If they’re not in the right frame of mind, we have to move on. The window will shut and then things will become clearer.”
Asked about a fourth bid coming in, Rodgers added: “I’m not sure. It’s not my concentration. I can’t lose energy thinking so much about it. It’ll be between the clubs. We have to continue to work with what we have."
Rodgers then made reference to Harry Maguire’s attitude during his own transfer saga, when Manchester United successfully signed the England international in 2019. But claimed, perhaps unlike his current charge, he remained committed to the cause right up until his departure.
On comparisons between the two sagas, he replied: “No, it was totally different. I was aware over the course of the summer that that could happen. Harry in terms of his behaviour and his focus for the club, he was fantastic right until the last minute, then he moved on. It was different. Our focus is with the team.”
