On the day of the transfer deadline, both members of the defense turned down opportunities to leave Chelsea.
Even though he has insisted they are both in his plans, Mauricio Pochettino has explained why Chelsea accepted offers on transfer deadline day for Trevoh Chalobah and Ian Maatsen.
While Chelsea was prepared to approve a £25 million + £5 million in add-ons deal from Nottingham Forest for Chalobah, Burnley’s original loan with £31.5 million obligation to purchase offer for Maatsen was rejected.
Both players declined the offers, with Chalobah preferring to stay put unless a club of comparable repute came calling and Maatsen eager to continue battling for his future at Chelsea. A loan deal to Bayern Munich for Chalobah was unsuccessful.
Chalobah “is in our plans,” according to Pochettino, who was then questioned more broadly about the decision to allow bids on the deadline day.
“What I can tell you is that there are two sides to the story,” he stated. If an offer is made, it means that either another department within the club has agreed to move or that an effort has been made to find a way to accommodate a player who wants to go.
“You can’t only blame the club; Jesus [Perez, my assistant] was willing to accept the offer if one came his way, don’t you think? Come on, we need to be witty too.
Jesus, did you get a job offer? No, yet it is simple to point the finger at the club. Similar to this, it’s possible that the player had a specific direction in mind throughout preseason or before the season.
“I am fair with the player if after that it didn’t happen. They’ll have an opportunity to play and perform here, I promise. The player may chose to stay after, but that’s business as usual.
Pochettino wanted to further reduce his roster before the deadline for transfers, but with nine players out due to injury, he was content to maintain the players who were drawing attention.
Tottenham also made an approach to Conor Gallagher, but no genuine offer was ever made.
Pochettino acknowledges that his young players have gone through a trying time, but he says he won’t begin to evaluate them until after the transfer window has closed.
They are not machines, he continued. When the transfer window is open and during preseason, we must be cautious in how we evaluate players.
“There are a lot of situations, as you mentioned, where players may not have the ideal opportunities to compete and support the team. Some athletes want to compete but are in a holding pattern right now.
This summer, Chelsea underwent significant change, bringing in 10 new first-team players for more than £400 million while allowing 13 full internationals leave for well over £250 million.
Pochettino missed the context of several discussions on player sales last season and was content to keep out of them, but he is now prepared to participate more actively.
“It is difficult for me because I am in a position where I don’t know the past, but, from this point forward, I can tell you that I am going to be involved,” the head of Cheksea remarked.
“If anyone is going to tell you whether a player is included in our plan or not, it’s going to be me. Of course, for you, the player, and the supporters, this is much better.
Additionally, because the coach is in front of you and explaining what is happening, it will be simpler for the club.
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