Mauricio Pochettino has placed additional doubt on Conor Gallagher’s future at the club by acknowledging that it is not up to him whether the midfielder remains or not.

Gallagher, 23, has started all but one of Chelsea’s league games this season, despite serving a one-match suspension against Manchester United earlier this month, and has routinely captained the team in Reece James’ absence.

However, with only 18 months left on his contract, sources say that the Blues may explore offers for him in January to assist bankroll the recruitment of a new striker.

Gallagher has yet to begin contract negotiations, and while Pochettino feels Gallagher is the type of player the club “needs,” he was unwilling to provide any assurances about his long-term future.

Asked about the midfielder’s situation, Pochettino said: ‘That is between the club and the player.

‘I don’t need to talk too much because it is not my decision. He is in the starting eleven in nearly all the games and is one of the captains. For me, he is the type of player that the club needs to have.’

Chelsea are looking to add a striker next month and have Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney on their radar.

The club spent almost £400 million on 13 new players during the summer transfer window, but following last week’s defeat against Everton, Pochettino conceded his team ‘are missing something’.

‘It’s about improving. We are talking after four, five months – 16 games – and it’s about assessing. If we are not able to score today with all the chances we had… we have to score if we want to win the game.

‘We want to be in a different position in the table. The team played well against a very difficult team like Everton. We were much better than them but you need to score.

‘After the first half of the season, we need to check. That is the reality. If we are not receiving enough, maybe we need to do some movement.

‘That is the thing to analyse with the sporting directors, to see if we can change this dynamic and improve in the second half of the season.

‘We need to be more aggressive. Then it’s a massive assessment and when the transfer window opens, we will see what we can do.

‘I don’t say if I am going to ask for more or less players. It’s to see if the perception matches the reality. We are missing something. We need to improve our reality.’