Peterborough United manager dismisses ‘nonsense rumours’ linking Siriki Dembele’s omission from the game at Birmingham City to potential departure from the club

Siriki Dembele in action against Coventry. Photo: Joe Dent.

Dembele did not make the squad for Tuesday’s trip to St Andrew’s, which saw Posh throw away a two-goal lead, despite being ahead 2-0 in the 86th minute, to draw 2-2.

Before the match, online rumours suggested that Dembele would be left out of the squad due to ongoing transfer speculation linking him with promotion-chasing Bournemouth.

On Monday (January 24), Director of Football Barry Fry confirmed the Cherries had made two bids for the 25-year-old forward, but that both had been rejected.

Bournemouth are known to be searching for a new forward and have also been linked with Cardiff’s Keiffer Moore.

Ferguson dismissed any connection between the rumours and the omission though, insisting that it was injury alone that kept the forward out of the squad.

Ferguson said: “Dembele, contrary to nonsense rumours about him being left out due to links with another club, was injured. Simple as that.

“I think he’s got a chance for Saturday. He felt something in the game last Saturday, reported it on Monday morning. He was in early and got some treatment and we knew that because of his foot and ankle he was out. It’s nothing to do with anything else apart from an injury.”

Injury also ruled young defender Ronnie Edwards out of last night’s match. The 18-year-old was forced off against West Brom on Saturday (January 22) after a collision with Daryl Dike left him with symptoms of a concussion. Due to the tight protocols around concussions, a potential return date is not yet known.

Ferguson said: “Ronnie took the knock on Saturday and we have protocols we have to follow for the concussion. He wasn’t actually concussed but he showed signs.

“He is a possibility for this weekend, but we have to follow the protocols and it is a day-by-day process. I probably won’t know about him until quite late in the week.”

Peterborough United reject Bournemouth bids for Dembele, interest in Edwards, Clarke-Harris and Szmodics