Pochettino rejects Chelsea defender’s exile claim amid persistent exit links – ‘no one is going to decide for me’

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has denied that Trevoh Chalobah will be frozen out after failing to leave the club on deadline day.

Bayern Munich were interested in taking Chalobah on loan this summer, while Nottingham Forest tried tempting Chelsea with a permanent bid. However, beyond the deadline, Chalobah is still at Pochettino’s disposal.

It has not stopped the speculation that the defender is nearing the end of his Chelsea career, despite being under contract until 2028. There have been rumours that Bayern could revive their interest in Chalobah when the next transfer window opens in January.

Meanwhile, some outlets have claimed Pochettino will freeze Chalobah out of his plans until then. However, the Chelsea boss has now refused the theory that Chalobah will not get any more chances to play under him.

When asked at a press conference on Friday if Chalobah is in his plans, Pochettino replied: “Yes, of course. I am Chelsea. I am the coach. His future is going to be [here].

“He is in our plans. No one is going to decide for me. He is going to be involved. Now we have finished the transfer window, he is going to be involved in the decisions.

“Chalobah and the other players in the squad are part of my plans. Some players don’t play, but that is my choice.”

Chalobah ‘will have the same opportunities’ as teammates

As for whether he has spoken to the 24-year-old, Pochettino confirmed: “Yes, I say ‘hello’ today like all of the players, but specifically about this, there is nothing to talk to him about this.

“He is a Chelsea player and he will have the same opportunities as the other.”

Chalobah is yet to feature under Pochettino because of injury, but has previously played 63 times across all competitions for Chelsea and has also had loan spells with Huddersfield, Ipswich and Lorient.

In theory, the 24-year-old is behind Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill and fellow absentee Wesley Fofana in the ideal Chelsea hierarchy at centre-back.

However, it appears he will still have opportunities to impress under Pochettino once he is able to get back on the pitch.

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