Brendan Rodgers answered questions at Leicester City’s Seagrave training ground ahead of Saturday’s clash with Southampton, speaking about the ongoing transfer rumours swarming around French centre-back Wesley Fofana, the fitness of key players and a new role for Marc Albrighton.
Leicester go into this weekend’s game off the back of an underwhelming start to the season. Rodgers’ side were comfortably beaten 4-2 by Arsenal at the weekend and let a two-goal lead slip against Brentford in the first game of the season.
With the Foxes back at home on Saturday, Rodgers will be keen to get his first three points of the season against a Saints side who came from two goals down to salvage a point against Leeds United on Saturday.
Wesley Fofana to Chelsea?
Wesley Fofana has been the subject of several transfer rumours for the past couple of weeks, with Chelsea making him a ‘top target’. Brendan Rodgers has reiterated his stance throughout that Fofana ‘is not for sale’. However, the Daily Mail reported this week that Fofana is growing increasingly frustrated that Leicester won’t sanction a move.
“There’s nothing new (regarding a new bid) from when we last spoke.
“We’ve spoken a number of times about the situation. We’ve had private conversations. Our communication is normal.
“It’s a challenge for any player, when the window is open and there is lots of noise, especially for a young player. That’s why we’re here, to help him and educate him and let him deal with all of these rumours. The focus is on the weekend.
“There’s no denying it. It’s always a tricky period. Your season is starting, you’re trying to get focused, and you spend your summer creating this powerful collective unit, and then there is lots of speculation. These are young guys and it’s the first time they have experienced this for some of them. There can be disruption. The idea is to keep the group focused. The minute the window ends, it all ends.
“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."
Harvey Barnes fitness update
Harvey Barnes has missed the start of the season after picking up a slight knee injury in a pre-season friendly against Sevilla.
Barnes is a key part of Rodgers’ side and his injury forced his manager into a tactical rethink heading into the season opener against Brentford.
Rodgers confirms that Barnes should be available for the weekend: “Harvey Barnes is back in training so that’s really good for us. He’s looked excellent, he’s looked fit. He had a really good pre-season. He should be available.
"We will decide whether he will be in from the start. He's looked good in training. He's had a really good pre-season. He may be available to start, maybe not play the full 90 minutes, but we'll discuss that after the final session tomorrow.
"It certainly opens that possibility when you have that pace and width in the team. It’s always important for how we play, that width. We always try to be flexible in how we play. Of course, when you’re limited, when he was out, we had to adjust.
"The players are very adaptable and can adjust really well.”
A new vice-captain
With club legend Kasper Schmeichel moving on this summer, Rodgers was left with a captaincy role to fill. A job that has landed on the shoulders of experienced centre-back Jonny Evans. However, Rodgers had left the vice-captaincy role open. Today, Rodgers confirmed that Marc Albrighton would take that role.
"Marc Albrighton was the choice from the coaches, the fellow players. It was unanimous really. He's a model professional. They set a standard every day, Jonny and Marc, the level of how they commit themselves to their work. It's a comfort to other players that they are there to support them.
"He's absolutely brilliant. I've had a few of those players here now. They are really important figures for us. When he plays, he gives everything to the cause. He wants to play. I can't speak highly enough of him. He has the total respect of his team-mates."