Rodgers said he would consider bringing Fofana back when the 21-year-old centre-back was “ready to commit to the club”. Fofana was a no-show at one practice last week and trained alone at another. Fofana appears to be keen on a move to Chelsea and is believed to have agreed personal terms. Asked if there were any similarities to when Maguire was sold in 2019, Rodgers replied: “It was completely different. I knew during the summer that there was a chance it could happen and to be fair to Harry, in terms of his behavior and his focus at the club, [he] he was fantastic until the last moment he was with the team and the team and then he moved on. So, no, it’s different. Obviously in some of my seasons here we’ve also lost Ben Chilwell, but this is unfortunately a bit different. But our focus is on the squad and the players that are available.” Rodgers reiterated that players must leave if he is to strengthen before the transfer window closes next Thursday. “[We’re] probably looking at some players at least [leaving] to try and allow us to do some business to bring some in,” he said. “That was the club’s model in terms of the player coming on and releasing funds to bring in other players.” Rodgers said he will not be defeated despite Leicester being winless apart from penalties at Stockport County in the Carabao Cup. “I’m one of the last people to lose my optimism,” the manager said.
