Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach of Chelsea, has replied to news that his previous club Tottenham want to sign Conor Gallagher this summer.
Spurs will be looking for a new central midfielder if they do not sell Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who has been linked with Manchester United, before Friday’s 11 p.m. deadline, and the club has increased their interest in Gallagher.
Chelsea are willing to trade Gallagher after signing Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia last month, but they want £45 million for the England international.
Pochettino, on the other hand, is a big supporter of Gallagher and gave him the captain’s armband in Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over AFC Wimbledon.
Quizzed about Gallagher’s future, Pochettino said:
Chelsea announced a striker transfer worth £32.4 million this summer
‘All players in the squad are in our plans. After is a decision of two parts of the club and the player.
‘Conor is a consistent player than can play in different positions. We are happy with him.
‘Circumstances happen in the past, we can say nothing, we can only say our feeling from day one and he has shown great commitment to the club, he was captain two days ago, he is an important player but the future I don’t know.
‘If you are the best you are going to play, even if we spend big money on a player, that is football.
‘All players in the squad know they are going to play if they deserve to play. That is the thing that is happening with the squad.
‘Just because we spent big money on a player does not mean he is guaranteed to play. We are so happy with Conor, we hope he stays with us.’