“He’s made noises that he is ready for a new challenge. He’s been at the club now for six years now and the fact that he hasn’t signed a new contract going into his final year – I think it does have an effect on the team.
“I think it does have an effect on the players around him and I think genuinely if he did want to stay and his heart was there he would have signed it by now.
“The chairman has obviously put a price tag on his head [and] they have to get value for money. If he’s not going to sign a contract then they have to cash in.”
He added: “The problem you have got is that the player clearly wants a new challenge, and if the window closes and he’s still at your club, you have then got to motivate that player until his new challenge arrives either at the end of the season, or in January, or whenever that may be.
“As a manager, you’ve then got a player who didn’t want to be around, so you’ve got to motivate that player and get him back on board and buy into what you are doing for the next 12 months.”
(Sky Sports)
