Paul Clement warned both Everton and Chelsea today that he wanted to keep hold of his stars amongst press speculation that both Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente could leave the club in the upcoming transfer window.
Both players have been the subject of reports this week that Chelsea wanted Llorente and Everton likewise on Sigurdsson as they look to bolster their own squads.
The chances of Sigurdsson seem to have reduced today with Everton splashing out on Morgan Schneiderlin but the discussions around Chelsea wanting Llorente just don't seem to want to go away whether it is a purchase, loan or swap deal.
But Clement was keen to point out to the press today that he did not want to see either player leave the club "Fernando is a very good player, he experienced at the highest level and important to this team. It’s just links, there’s been no contact,” said the head coach.
"I want to keep Gylfi here, he’s similar to Llorente, we’re in a situation where we want to win games and to give you a chance of doing that you need your best players.
"You need to keep your best players and they are two of the best players the team has got.
"You’d possibly expect interest, but they’re contracted, they are motivated, focused on what we need to do to move this team forward.
"I can’t say anything will or won’t happen, there’s a lot of speculation and gossip, but there’s been no conversation between me, the players, the club, the other clubs, it’s just down to work and the game against Arsenal this weekend.”