Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has provided updates on the futures of Wesley Fofana and James Maddison, who have been recently linked with Chelsea and Newcastle United, respectively.
Rodgers has reiterated that Fofana, the Foxes’ prized central defensive asset, remains off the market. The Northern Irishman’s words are pertinent amid Chelsea’s ongoing attempts to sign the defender to bolster a backline that has lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen and may yet lose Trevoh Chalobah this summer.
“The idea is that he is very much a Leicester player. He’s not for sale. Unless anything changes, I would expect him to be here.”
“There’s nothing new from when we last spoke. We’ve spoken numerous times; they are private conversations. Our communication is normal,”
he said, per Football London.
Despite Rodgers’s statement, Fofana’s future remains unclear. The Athletic claims the Frenchman has asked to be left out of Leicester’s squad for tomorrow’s Premier League game against Southampton, given the circumstances surrounding a potential transfer. Chelsea – say multiple reports – could return with a third offer to test the Foxes in the coming weeks after their first two were knocked back.
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Fofana is not the only Leicester player in demand. Tottenham and Newcastle are said to be keeping an eye on attacking midfielder James Maddison, whose contract runs out in two years.
The Englishman is currently on a 110,000 pounds-a-week wage, but Rodgers confirmed that the club intends to keep him at the King Power Stadium and is prepared to open talks regarding a fresh contract.
”I’m sure the club would want to extend James’ contract. Both sides have to be able to find an agreement,”
he said.
Maddison started both of Leicester City’s games this season – a 2-2 draw versus Brentford and a 4-2 loss against Arsenal. The 25-year-old attacker was one of the Foxes’ better players in those games, providing an assist in the first one and scoring his first of the season in the second.