Brendan Rodgers has claimed he believes James Maddison will remain at Leicester despite speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal.
The former Norwich man has been valued at £60m by the Foxes following news of the Gunners' interest, with the north Londoners currently struggling to piece together a bid sufficient enough to tempt Leicester into cutting ties.
Mikel Arteta isn't the only one keen to secure a deal for Maddison this summer, with another unnamed London club reportedly lodging a bid.
Both Arsenal and the unknown club are understood to have proposed a player-plus-cash deal, yet Rodgers has done his best to quash the rumours surrounding Maddison's future after claiming he believes the talented midfielder will remain at the King Power Stadium.
"I believe he will stay," he told reporters (via BBC Sport). "He's working very hard in training. Clearly gossip and speculation at this time of year. Important member of our squad. Hopefully this year can show the real top player that he is."
Naturally the final decision over Maddison's future will be out of Rodgers' hands and it will be the club's hierarchy and the player who have the biggest say in any potential deal, though for now the Leicester boss is clearly planning for the 2021/22 campaign under the assumption Maddison will be a part of his squad.
Having missed out on the signing of Emi Buendia and are likely to be beaten to Sassuolo midfielder Manuel Locatelli by Juventus, it may be a case of back to the drawing board for the Gunners once again.
Arsenal have also been credited with an interest in Lyon pairing Houssem Aouar and Bruno Guimaraes, though it remains to be seen whether any of their pursuits will prove successful.
So far this summer, the Gunners have brought in full-back Nuno Tavares, midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga and former Brighton centre-back Ben White.
Source : 90min