After weeks of reports that Arsenal were close to making a move for James Maddison, Brendan Rodgers dismissed the notion as “all gossip”, saying no offer had been made.
The Leicester City manager said ahead of Monday’s trip to West Ham that he believes everyone on the squad wants to stay at King Power.
This marks a milestone for the Foxes, who have grown accustomed to losing key players to big-budget rivals.
Maddison appeared to be the wanted man during the offseason, but Rodgers insisted there had been no offers for the 24-year-old England international.
“There has obviously been stuff around James this summer, but the reality is it was just gossip because there was never an investigation or an offer,” Rodgers said. “There was no drama there.”
The Gunners’ £ 30million transfer to land Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid may have preceded an official offer, but the outcome is the same for Leicester.
On the heels of a second fifth consecutive place in the league and with a new operational training facility, Rodgers said he believes the club are ready to keep their players.
“The players felt the need to move on and keep their careers, which is good, and that is the nature of the game,” said Rodgers. “It will always happen and some of the biggest clubs in the world will lose their players.
“You always have to prepare that pipeline of players in the future, so if you lose them the next ones will come. This is something that we are very clear about as a club.
“I just think this summer the players got to think about our situation as a team and a club and feel like they want to be a part of it, which is great news.”
