‘Circumstances happen’ - Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea face huge transfer decision amid Tottenham bid

Chelsea seemingly have a big decision to make on deadline day, and it involves London rivals Tottenham. Mauricio Pochettino had to be patient for new signings this summer, with the Blues having to secure some key exits after a busy last two windows. Nicolas Jackson was among those snapped up early on, but the Blues were not as bold as they have been in previous windows.

That has changed late in the window, however, with Chelsea replacing Romelu Lukaku and the injured Christopher Nkunku by snapping up Cole Palmer on a big-money deal from Manchester City.

Chelsea are now likely to switch focus back to exits as Pochettino looks to shape his squad ahead of Friday night’s deadline, but there is a big decision to be made over Conor Gallagher. Gallagher has played regularly early in the season, but reports have claimed that Chelsea are willing to offload him for around £45million.

According to Football.London, Tottenham have made a ‘verbal offer’ worth £40million, meaning Chelsea need to weigh up whether they want to sell Gallagher for less than their valuation, and indeed whether they want to sell him to a direct and London rival.

Spurs are likely to offload Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ahead of the deadline, and Ange Postecoglou is said to see Gallagher as the ideal replacement. Chelsea could likely squeeze Tottenham for an extra £5million, but much will come down to whether they want to see the midfielder to their rivals, given the battle for a top four spot will likely be a very close one this season.

Speaking on Friday about a possible Gallagher sale, Pochettino said: "All players in the squad are in our plans. After is a decision of two parts of the club and player.

"Conor is a consistent player that can play in different positions. 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."