Wesley Fofana has reportedly asked to be left out of Leicester City's matchday squad against Southampton on Saturday in the Premier League.
As reported by The Athletic, Brendan Rodgers is set to omit the 21-year-old from the Foxes' plans at the King Power Stadium tomorrow as they hope to pick up their first win of the season.
Chelsea have already had two bids for Fofana turned down, with expectations a third is coming that could seal a move to Stamford Bridge with the player thought to be keen. This news is only going to increase the speculation that has grown over the past couple of weeks.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: Wesley Fofana forces move, Aubameyang very close, Casemiro snub
Rodgers was firm in Thursday's press conference that he would be prepared to leave out the defender if the ongoing transfer interest was impacting his focus.
“If the players aren’t totally focused and committed to the club and being here, or for whatever reason just aren’t in the right mindset, that won’t help us," said Rodgers.
“We have to ensure everyone is really focused in order for us to play the best game we can. I will always assess that after the sessions.”
Football.London understands that intermediaries last week spoke to Leicester about a fee and now there is direct back and forth between Chelsea and Leicester. Leicester are still adamant they don't want to sell, but as we could see from Brendan Rodgers' comments last week, their stance has somewhat softened.
"We work together on reinforcements but it's never easy," Thomas Tuchel said on Chelsea's transfer business in Friday's press conference. "We can't just wish for something and it will happen. As long as the transfer window is open there are always possibilities. The focus is on what we have, not what we could have".
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