Jose Mourinho had to bat away questions about Dele Alli and Gareth Bale when asked about the potential exit of the former and why the latter has struggled to impress on his return to Tottenham Hotspur.
Alli has been linked with a move away from the club, with PSG keen to take him to France, having played just 74 minutes of Premier League football this season.
The 24-year-old has only been getting into recent matchday squads because of the increase in substitutes allowed on the bench from seven to nine players.
However, there has been concern at Spurs about letting Alli leave, even on loan, in case it leaves the squad short, particularly with Giovani Lo Celso's current hamstring injury.
When asked whether Spurs would let Alli leave on loan if nobody arrived during the January transfer window, Mourinho was not able to say what he wanted to.
"It’s not a question that I am comfortable to answer," he said.
"Of course I would know how to answer you, but I am not ready to answer, I am not ready to make public my vision of the situation. I am sorry about that but I’m not going to answer."
Mourinho was then asked whether in a general sense he would be willing to let a first team player leave without signing a replacement.
"You are asking that question in a general way but you are, of course, speaking about Dele so the question that you are asking me is if would I let Dele go without getting a player in exchange and I’m not going to answer that question to you," he responded.
Mourinho's lack of response over Alli's future is in stark contrast to his clear statement just days before that Harry Winks would not be leaving the club this month.
Alli had earned praise from Mourinho for his professional attitude in the FA Cup tie at non-league Marine but then found himself an unused substitute in the draw with Fulham in midweek.
Not long after the final whistle Alli posted a selfie on his Instagram Story of himself looking frustrated with his hand on his face, travelling back from the match
"I think in every dressing room are unhappy players," Mourinho said when asked if the player was unhappy.
"For sure. If any one of us, of my tribe, tells you that in his dressing-room are only happy players, I don’t think it’s true, or somebody is so so lucky to have a miracle in his hands.
"I believe that in every dressing-room, there are unhappy players. Then you can have [an] unhappy professional and the unhappy professional is the one that is unhappy but feels that his duty is to work, work, work and work, and there is the unhappy that believes that it’s not his job to fight and to work every minute for the squad and for the club.
"But unhappy players you have everywhere and in every club, I promise you that."
Mourinho also spoke about Bale, a player he has always liked, but swerved talking about why the Welshman has not shown many glimpses of the ability that he left Spurs with.
The 31-year-old winger has started just one Premier League match since re-joining the club on loan.
"Gareth is a player that I always loved. In fact he went to Real Madrid one season later because I spoke with the president when I was there," he said.
"He’s a guy I like very much. As a person he’s a really, really nice guy, a dressing room guy. The reasons he didn’t reach in this period the level that Tottenham supporters remember him is a complex answer and I’m not prepared to… If Gareth was here we could speak a little bit about it but just by myself I’m not comfortable."
There has been some criticism that Bale is just happy to be picking up his wages and not too concerned about whether he's playing or not.
Mourinho dispelled that and said that the Welshman is just a naturally happy person.
"I think he’s a happy guy. I see him every day really happy. His interaction in the group is amazing," he said.
"He’s really a nice and happy guy in the group. If he’s happy when he sits on the bench I don’t think so. I honestly don’t think so.
"If he has appetite to play football, I do think so because when a player does want to play in Marine after only one training session, after three weeks of injury wants to go and play in Marine, I believe that can only show a person loves to play football."
