Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has refused to discuss the club’s pursuit of Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell.
The England international has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.
However, he is unlikely to come cheap, with reports suggesting Leicester want a huge transfer fee.
And Lampard gave nothing away when asked about Chilwell at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
“I’m not even going to speak about Ben Chilwell or any other players, out of respect,” he said.
“We’re focusing on our game this weekend and every other Premier League team is doing the same, so I won’t get involved with any talk about future ifs or buts.”
Speaking via a video link, Lampard revealed that Callum Hudson-Odoi and Fikayo Tomori will not be available for Sunday’s game against Aston Villa.
Lampard explained: “Fikayo Tomori has got a muscle injury – probably from the stresses of trying to get fit quickly – which should probably keep him out for the next 10 days or so.
“With Callum Hudson-Odoi, he had a small injury earlier on in the training process and is not match fit, albeit he’s physically fit now.”
But Lampard added that Ruben Loftus-Cheek is “looking good” following the midfielder’s recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon.