Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou says they can afford to lose England defender Eric Dier, who has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich.
Dier, 29, has been capped 49 times by England but struggled to claim a first-team place for Tottenham this season.
Reports in Germany say he is close to a move to the Bundesliga champions.
Dier missed Spurs’ 1-0 FA Cup win over Burnley, and Postecoglou told ITV he knew “absolutely zero” about a transfer and said the player was injured.
He was then asked about that in a heated news conference and when questioned further by a journalist, the Australian added: “He pulled up sore and didn’t train yesterday.
“It’s a separate issue mate, do not question my integrity. When I say he’s injured, he’s injured. He didn’t train yesterday, ask him.
“It has got nothing to do with anything else. When you’re asking me if he is injured, he’s injured, I didn’t make that up. If he wasn’t injured I would say he isn’t selected, it’s easy for me to say.
“In terms of anything else that happens, not on my radar, not that I’ve heard. If there’s something, I’m sure I will hear about it. It’s fair to say the last 24 hours I’ve been focused on the game and the guys that are available.”
If Dier was to join Bayern Munich, he would team up again with Tottenham’s record goalscorer Harry Kane, who moved to the Bundesliga in a deal worth an initial £86.4m in August and has scored 25 goals in 22 games in all competitions.
Dier joined Tottenham in a £4m deal from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon in 2014 and has made 274 Premier League appearances for Spurs.
He has only started one league game this season, despite injuries to Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, who was an unused substitute against Burnley in his return to the squad for the first time since sustaining a hamstring injury in the 4-1 loss to Chelsea on 6 November.
Full-back Ben Davies had been used in a central role and played the 90 minutes against Burnley, but Postecoglou said he had been struggling with a hamstring injury towards the end of the match.
Asked if he could afford to lose Dier after Davies’ injury, Postecoglou replied “yes”.
Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s massive for him but you can quite clearly see he’s not part of Ange’s plans.
“You look at the way he [Postecoglou] has played this season, you look at the injuries he’s had, whether Cristian Romero’s been injured or suspended and Micky van de Ven has been injured. Eric Dier hasn’t figured even when both of those two have been missing. He’s chosen to play four full-backs as centre-halves.
“If Eric Dier can’t get into that team it tells you something. If you can get a move to Bayern Munich at this stage it’s not too bad.”
Tottenham, fifth in the Premier League, are next in action on 14 January with an away game at Manchester United.
Bayern Munich are second in the Bundesliga, four points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen but with a game in hand as they look to become German champions for a 12th successive time.
