Chelsea and Man City have seemingly been dealt a transfer blow as Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has dismissed talk of the club selling reported target Ben Chilwell.
The 23-year-old has established himself as a pivotal figure for the Foxes and has made 33 appearances this season to further cement his place as a fundamental part of their XI.
With 11 caps to his name for England too, there is little doubt that he has a big future ahead of him for club and country.
However, with speculation rife over his future heading into the summer, Rodgers has insisted that Leicester consider their left-back as being not for sale, although there is arguably a hint of hope for Chelsea and Man City, who are both specifically named in the report below as interested parties, as he hasn’t entirely dismissed the suggestion that Chilwell may have played his last game for the club already.
“I’m not sure [if he has played his last game for Leicester]. He’s a Leicester player and not one that we want to lose so I’m quite relaxed on it,” he is quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“We’ve got a fantastic squad and one that we want to keep together.
“There’s no intention to sell Ben Chilwell and absolutely no need to sell. The message is: He’s not for sale.”
Chilwell will miss the remaining games of the campaign due to injury, hence the response on whether or not he has already played his game for the Foxes, and that will be a more immediate blow for Rodgers who will also be without James Maddison as Leicester try to get over the line and secure Champions League qualification.
Whether they do so or not though, he will undoubtedly be desperate to keep hold of his key players and continue to build on their impressive season this year rather than have to spend the summer finding replacements, but it remains to be seen if their resolve is tested by either Chelsea or Man City, or both, when it comes to Chilwell.
Further, perhaps the player’s wishes will be an important factor too as the Champions League hopefuls won’t want to keep an unhappy player either.