CHRIS Mepham was left out of Brentford's matchday squad after "too many rumours" about his future, according to head coach Thomas Frank.

Cherries are negotiating with the Bees in an attempt to complete a permanent move for the Welsh international, who was not selected for yesterday's 4-2 win at Rotherham.

Speaking after the match, Frank told the Brentford club website: "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 Ngoyo) 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."

The Sun stated an offer around £15million would be tabled for Hammersmith-born Mepham but the Daily Echo understands any deal would see Cherries part with significantly less than that.

Sky claimed the Dorset club had failed with £5.5m and £10m bids for the centre-back in the past two transfer windows.

Mepham has also reportedly attracted interest from Southampton.

He made his first-team debut for Brentford in the 2016-17 campaign before cementing a position in the starting XI last season.