Brendan Rodgers names three players who could leave Leicester in January

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Daniel Amartey, Nampalys Mendy and Daniel Amartey have played just one minute of Premier League football between them for The Foxes this season.

Papy Mendy, Daniel Amartey and Filip Benkovic are all expected to leave Leicester City during the January transfer window with manager Brendan Rodgers confirming to the Mercury that their futures, either long or short term, lie away from the King Power Stadium.

Only one of the out-of-favour trio has featured for the Foxes this season and Mendy’s August outing against Sheffield United only lasted a matter of seconds.

The former Nice midfielder, who signed in 2016 for £10 million, has fallen behind Wilfried Ndidi and Hamza Choudhury in the pecking order and it’s a similar story for both Amartey and Benkovic.

The former is yet to make an appearance since suffering a broken leg a year ago while the latter has found himself stuck in the U23s, despite starring on loan at Rodgers’ Celtic in the second half of last season.

And the Northern Irishman has admitted that both Amartey and Benkovic are likely to go out on loan with Mendy, who has just a few months left on his contract, expected to bid farewell permanently in the New Year.

“Unfortunately for Papy, I play with one defensive midfield player and two attacking players. Young Hamza has been great, as has Wilf, who has been in great form. You don’t need another one,” Rodgers said, while adding that he’s been impressed by the professionalism of Leicester’s forgotten men.

“Daniel, coming back off a long injury, we’ll have a look at that in January for him. He’s still there, he’s very much in touching distance of the squad, but hasn’t featured.

“For Filip, it’s a very difficult position for him. He’s fighting every day to be fitter and stronger.

“We’ll see where he’s at in January, whether he needs games with more pressure, or whether he stays and is that support player should anything happen.”

It will be interesting to see whether a second spell at Celtic could be an option for Benkovic but, with Kristoffer Ajer, Christopher Jullien, Jozo Simunovic, Nir Bitton and Hatem Elhamed all capable of playing at centre-half, there may be no room for him at Parkhead this time around.