CHIL OUT? NO CHANCE

Rodgers: I tried to sign Ben for Liverpool so I want to keep him now I’ve finally got him

BRENDAN RODGERS is delighted to finally be working with England starlet Ben Chilwell after failing to sign him for Liverpool.

Rodgers takes charge of Leicester for the third time today at Burnley in the Premier League. And left-back Chilwell, who has five full caps, has already made a big impression on the new Foxes’ boss. His form has also got champions Manchester City considering a huge summer bid for the 22-year-old defender. Rodgers admitted: “I’m just in the door and I can see he’s a huge talent. I tried to take Ben to Liverpool when I was there – so I know how good he is. “He wasn’t even in the first team then. But we were looking for a left-back and he was right at the top of our list. “We didn’t get to the ‘nearly there’ as Leicester were obviously going to protect their assets. The club were keen to keep him here as he was a boy that was recognised as a talent at the time.

“He is a wonderful young player and he has still got a lot to learn in his game.

“He really enjoys being here and we’ll see how it pans out, but he’s certainly one we don’t want to lose.”

Rodgers used Chilwell as a wing-back in his opening game as Leicester manager – a 2-1 defeat at Watford.

He then switched to a back four for the visit of Fulham last weekend as his side ran out 3-1 winners. Leicester’s stars have not always been open to switching systems after losing faith with Claudio Ranieri once the Italian started tinkering with their preferred 4-4-2 formation, just months after winning the Premier League title in 2016.

But Rodgers believes he can get his squad to be more flexible and adaptable by explaining his changes and drilling the team on the training ground.

He added: “I just think with players it is education really and you need to let them understand the why – then they will embrace it more.

“You can not just throw it on to a player. There are two things a player needs – purpose and clarity.

“If I ask a player, ‘Are you clear on your job?’. And they say to me, ‘I am pretty clear’ – then they are not clear and they need to be really clear.

“Then they go out on to the pitch and they can play.

“They are a great bunch of players here at Leicester and they want to learn which is important.”