Mauricio Pochettino has told Chelsea chiefs letting Conor Gallagher join London rivals Tottenham this month would be a mistake.

England ace Gallagher, 23, has been the Blues' stand-in captain for much of this campaign and has already played 25 times across all competitions.

Recent reports have suggested a sale of the academy graduate could still be sanctioned to help ease his boyhood club's worrying Financial Fair Play position.

However, that now looks increasingly unlikely with The Sun claiming Pochettino has made his thoughts clear on the matter to his superiors.

The paper's anonymous source said: "Tottenham want to sign Conor, but there's a massive timing issue at play.

"Chelsea had been open-minded to letting the player go a couple of months ago and Spurs thought the deal was in place. 

"But in recent weeks, Conor has become of vital importance to the team and the manager thinks letting him go now could lead to major problems in the second half of the season.

"He is also massively popular with the fans and the board will fear a massive backlash if they let him go and he takes Spurs, one of Chelsea's biggest rivals, into the Champions League while they are left stuck in the middle of the table."

It is believed the North Londoners will attempt to revive a deal in the summer instead, with Ange Postecoglou keen to continue improving his midfield options.

The Aussie boss has also refused to rule out further business this month following the captures of RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner on loan and Genoa defender Radu Dragusin on a permanent deal.

In other news

Football Transfers say Newcastle are willing to let Bruno Guimaraes join Real Madrid or Barcelona for less than his £100million release clause.

Italian media claim Juventus are one of the leading contenders to sign former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who is looking to leave Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq on loan.

Serie A side Napoli are keen to take Bournemouth's Hamed Traore on loan with a view to a permanent move, according to Fabrizio Romano.