Ange Postecoglou says he has no plans to sell Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso in January.
Lo Celso suffered an injury in the Carabao Cup defeat to Fulham in August that has limited his game time to just three Premier League substitute appearances but Postecoglou insists he will get more chances in the coming weeks.
The 27-year-old started for world champions Argentina in their eventful 1-0 win over rivals Brazil on Wednesday and has been attracting interest from Barcelona, in their pursuit of a transfer market replacement for the injured Gavi.
Asked whether he has considered selling Lo Celso in January, Postecoglou replied: “No, because this is the opportunity where I’m getting to make those assessments.
"[What he did previously] isn’t really relevant to me. It’s more about what I see from now on, and how the players feel in terms of fitting in to the football I want.
“I’m going to get a good look at everyone. There’s constant feedback about how we play and where I see the guys fitting in with that. Gio is no different.
“I don’t think his national team form is a direct correlation to here. Gio will get an opportunity; others will get an opportunity in the next couple of weeks.”
Meanwhile, £47.5million summer recruit Brennan Johnson scored his first goal for Spurs in their defeat to Wolves before the international break and Postecoglou has tipped him to grow in stature to become one of the club’s key attackers.
“That’s why we brought Brennan to the club," said the manager. "We really think he’s got some really great attributes to become a really attacking avenue for us. He scored last week. He’s had a bit of a disrupted start to life here — he’s had a couple of injuries that have set him back — but he’s healthy now, which is great.
“The way we play, there’s a real emphasis on them [the players] getting into those areas we need them to get into and either creating or scoring goals. Brennan has those attributes. Now he just needs to get a run of games to show what he can do.
“We were looking for an extra attacking player. He can play wide and can play centrally as well — he’s shown that with Wales during the week. I think that gives us some good options in those areas.”
