Brendan Rodgers
Leicester City may not have the funds to correct their form with January signings. And they may not have Wesley Fofana to call upon until February amid worsening defensive problems. The winter transfer window opens in a few weeks but City manager Brendan Rodgers has thrown doubt over the club being active in the market, suggesting there is not the money to do any deals.
Brendan Rodgers said: “To be fair I’m not sure we have the funds to do that to be honest. It’s one where you just have to make do with what you have. JJ (James Justin) will be back in a few weeks’ time which will be a huge help for us. Wesley is going to be a while. It’s not imminent. It will be a period of time before he’s back. It’s not any longer than we first thought. We talked about January but it could be the end of January or early February. We will just have to wait and see.”
Right now, the January transfer window is far from Rodgers’ biggest concern, as he needs to lift his team ahead of a home clash with relegation-threatened Newcastle. While the Magpies have renewed confidence after their first victory of the season last weekend, City are without a win in their last three.
Brendan Rodgers said: “I can lift this group, absolutely, there’s no question about that. We just have to recover. They are all dangerous games. Newcastle have got really good players and that’s the challenge of European football, coming back in the early hours of a Friday and then getting ready for a team that can prepare all week. That’s what we’re up against and the challenges. I’ve said all along it’s been a great period and this is a period now that is a test for us. We’re sat in mid-table and haven’t been quite so good in Europe this year so now we’ve got to really focus on our game again and get back to the levels where we can be, which is difficult because of the players that we haven’t got. That’s the great challenge and it’s why I love working with this group so much. They are good guys and want to be better, and they will be. We’ve got to strive to win our next game and you can see it’s not as if the players are playing with no confidence. You saw the game at Aston Villa, we took the lead in the game and were playing well, but then conceded poor goals. We’re making poor decisions in games as well and that goes against what our work has been, and obviously that can happen under pressure. It’s my job to galvanise the team and get us working well again, fighting to get ready for the next one.”
