Thomas Tuchel would have no concerns about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's attitude but has refused to discuss the possibility of working with the Barcelona striker again at Chelsea.
The Blues have been linked with a move for Aubameyang after Tuchel acknowledged on Friday they "could use" new signings both in attack and defence.
Tuchel offered a firm "no comment" when asked about interest in either Aubameyang or Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana, but was willing to reflect on his work with the Barca front man while at Borussia Dortmund.
Aubameyang scored 56 Bundesliga goals in 63 games under Tuchel at BVB. Indeed, for no coach in the top five leagues has Aubameyang scored more goals, registered more goal contributions (63) or netted at a faster rate (94 minutes per goal).
Tuchel still enjoys a close bond with the reported Chelsea target, telling a news conference ahead of Sunday's game against Tottenham: "I enjoyed a lot working with him. It was a pleasure.
"This has nothing to do with the situation now, but some players stay your players, because you were very, very close. Auba was one of these players.
"We had a very close relationship. Always when we played him here with Arsenal, there was always straight away this close bond. They stay your players, in a way, and Auba is one of these guys."
Mikel Arteta did not enjoy quite the same relationship with Aubameyang at Arsenal, with their fallout – which resulted in his January move to Barca – documented in Amazon's recent All or Nothing documentary series.
But Tuchel, quizzed on Aubameyang's "toxic influence", said: "I experienced none of this.
"This has nothing to do with the situation at Arsenal, which I also will not comment about out of respect, because it's not on me to comment. I don't know what happened.
"In Dortmund, there was never an issue."
And Tuchel is not concerned by others' opinions on Aubameyang, adding: "I don't follow the press about Auba. Don't be offended, but I don't follow the press so much.
"I don't know if he has a bad press or a good press – I could not care less. It's not important."
For now, Tuchel's focus is on Sunday's game against Spurs, and he is determined not to be distracted by possible transfer activity.
"We will not panic, and we will not try to sign players of which we are not 100 per cent convinced," he explained. "Our signings so far are fantastic signings and help us.
"To be very honest, it's a day-by-day business now to coach the team which is here and not to lose your head as a coach too much about what could be.
"What sense does it make if I lose my head now in the office and think about the team with players who are not here?
"We are ambitious, and we work hard to maybe strengthen our squad further, but at the same time we are calm, and all the energy and the ambition goes into the group that is here. We have still time."
Martinez back in Argentina squad for World Cup qualifiers
Emiliano Martinez has been recalled by Argentina for this month's World Cup qualifiers versus Paraguay and Peru after serving a two-match suspension.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper sat out a 1-1 draw with Venezuela and a 6-0 rout of Bolivia in October after being banned for "offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play" by CONMEBOL.
Martinez had made a lewd gesture with the Copa America trophy ahead of a match against Chile in September, then hit a local television camera after a loss to Colombia.
Valencia midfielder Enzo Barrenechea has been handed his maiden call-up by Lionel Scaloni, while Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho and Leicester City's Facundo Buonanotte have also been recalled.
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi will lead the world champions – who are top of the CONMEBOL qualification group with 22 points – in Paraguay on November 14, before they host Peru five days later.
Argentina squad: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Walter Benitez (PSV), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), German Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Nehuen Perez (Porto), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Enzo Barrenechea (Valencia), Thiago Almada (Botafogo), Facundo Buonanotte (Leicester City), Nicolas Paz (Como), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Valentin Castellanos (Lazio).
Al-Nassr 5-1 Al-Ain: Ronaldo on target in AFC Champions League win
Cristiano Ronaldo powered Al-Nassr to a convincing 5-1 triumph over Asian Champions League Elite holders Al-Ain on Tuesday.
The victory carried a sense of redemption for Al-Nassr as they avenged last season's semi-final defeat to the same opposition on their way to lifting a second title in the competition.
Talisca fired the hosts into a fifth minute lead with a well-taken effort from the edge of the box before Ronaldo poked home his 908th career goal just after the half-hour mark.
Visiting defender Fabio Cardoso then deflected Angelo's effort beyond Khalid Eisa to hand Al-Nassr a comfortable advantage at the interval.
Al-Ain did, however, pull one back early in the second half when Park Yong-woo's strike struck the post and went in off the back of Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento.
But the result was put beyond doubt late on when Wesley curled home Al-Nassr's fourth, before Talisca notched his brace in second half stoppage time.
Data Debrief: Return of Ronaldo
After winning five Champions League across his glittering career, Ronaldo is now eyeing a first AFC Champions League crown with Al-Nassr.
The 39-year-old has six goals in eight appearances in the competition, with his goal against Al-Ain ending a three-game goal drought for Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo also registered a team-high expected goals (xG) tally of 1.25 towards Al-Nassr's 2.67 total, while also producing more shots (eight) and touches in the opposition box (nine) than any other player on the pitch.
Slovan Bratislava 1-4 Dinamo Zagreb: Slovakian side still searching for first Champions League point
Dinamo Zagreb came back from a goal down to cruise to a 4-1 victory away to Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The home side scored just their second goal of the league stage to go ahead after just five minutes through forward David Strelec.
But their lead was short-lived, with Dinamo getting back on level terms just five minutes later after Dario Spikic cut inside and slotted into the near post after carrying the ball into the box.
The visitors were ahead after the half-hour mark as Petar Sucic headed Marko Pjaca's cross home.
They extended their lead in the 54th minute after Sandro Kulenovic tapped in from close range to finish off a lovely flowing move. But neither he, nor his side, were done there.
A fourth arrived in the 72nd minute, with Kulenovic curling home an effort from the edge of the penalty area.
The result left Slovan Bratislava bottom of the Champions League table, yet to earn their first point after four matches, while Dinamo are up to 10th on seven points with the later matches still to play.
Data debrief: Dinamo sitting pretty
Dinamo Zagreb have opened a six-point gap to the bottom eight in the Champions League table, having dropped just two points since their 9-2 demolition away to Bayern Munich.
Qualification for the play-off round would mark the first time that the Croatian side have ever progressed into the knockout stage in the competition.
Their victory, meanwhile, was the first time – excluding qualifiers – in which they have scored four goals away from home in the Champions League.
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