Newcastle United may have to wait for an answer on Hamza Choudhury after Brendan Rodgers revealed he will now "assess" the midfielder's future in the next couple of weeks.
Choudhury has been offered out on loan to clubs by his agent, including Newcastle, and while Rodgers was locked in conversation with Steve Bruce before the game both managers stated nothing was close in terms of an agreement after the game.
The Magpies were beaten 2-1 by Leicester but Choudhury was left out of the squad.
Rodgers, speaking at his Press conference, said: "We’ve got a very competitive squad. Hamza played a good number of games for us this season, and started, primarily in the Europa League.
"He’s done really well. It’s a difficult one for him, like today he wasn’t in the squad.
"That’s one we’ll assess over the course of January.
"It’s very difficult to break into our midfield, who is one of the best recoverers of the ball, which is the role Hamza plays, and the other one who has performed outstandingly well for us is Papy Mendy.
"He’s a young player that has been in our squad and has contributed well. We’ll see over the course of January what happens with Hamza."
Bruce was asked specifically on loan deals for Choudhury and Manchester United's Brandon Williams, a player the Toon boss likes, but said that talk of an imminent arrival was "news" to him.
Just three days earlier Bruce had stated that one or two things were "bubbling away" but was slightly more downbeat this time.
He said: "Whether something can happen in the next week, I’m not so sure about that. We’ll keep plugging away."
