Sunday 20 January 2019 16:15, UK
Bournemouth remain in discussions with Brentford over the possible signing of defender Chris Mepham.
And the 21-year-old centre-back was left out of the Brentford squad for Saturday's win at Rotherham due to the speculation about his future.
Speaking to the Bees website after their 4-2 win, head coach Thomas Frank said: "We know there are a lot of rumours about Chris Mepham.
"In the last game, he was on the bench because he could not get in the starting XI, because Yoann (Barbet), Julian (Jeanvier) and Ezri (Konsa) have done brilliantly.
"In this game, there have been too many rumours and too much to think about, so we decided to leave him out of the squad."
Mepham made his debut for Brentford in January 2017 and became a regular starter last season.
He broke into the Wales side last March and has attracted interest from Bournemouth in both the last two transfer windows.
Sky Sports News understands Mepham is keen on a Bournemouth move and that Southampton - who had also been tracking the player - will not attempt to intervene.
The Cherries have been busy this month and have already completed the permanent signing of Dominic Solanke and a loan deal for Nathaniel Clyne - both from Liverpool.
