Chelsea loanee Bashir Humphreys has now claimed that there were some at the club who wanted to keep him there for this season.
He told Swansea City’s Twitter page that Mauricio Pochettino was one of those who were keen for him to stay and learn from those already at Stamford Bridge.
Humphreys has enjoyed a really promising time on loan in the Championship, putting in a number of strong performances for Swansea so far this season.
The move followed a pre-season where he appeared as much as any other defender during the tour of the United States.
When he started in the EFL Cup match earlier this season against AFC Wimbledon, there was an acknowledgment that he was more than in the manager’s plans for the future.
Humphreys himself has now claimed that he believes the club let him leave due to what was best for him, rather than being selfish and keeping hold of him.
He said: “So I played the game against Wimbledon which was what I was waiting for, to then see if I was going to be out.
Pochettino wanted to keep Humphreys
“I had a pretty long conversation with the manager. They kind of said ‘look, we’re gonna do what’s best for you here, not what’s best for us’ because they wanted me to stay there, be in and around it and play some games.
“But I said ‘look I wanna go somewhere where I can play games and get better and improve’.”
There are already a number of strong options as centre-backs at the club, however one big figure is likely to leave in the coming months.
Thiago Silva is surely in his final season at Stamford Bridge, despite having started every Premier League game so far this season.
However, interest in his services has already been reported from his home country.
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