Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he may let one of his fringe players leave on loan until the end of the season.
The Portuguese coach's stance will be a blow to Tottenham who were hoping to secure £7million rated England left-back Wayne Bridge on a permanent deal.
However, the decision may open the door for Bridge to move across West London and join neighbours Fulham until the end of the season.
The move would bolster Fulham's rearguard and significantly boost Bridge's chances of making Sven-Goran Eriksson's World Cup squad for the finals in Germany this summer.
The England coach has made it clear to Bridge that he must be playing regular first-team football before the end of the current campaign if he is to be included in his plans.
Mourinho has repeatedly insisted he would not allow any of his players to move out on loan but now appears to have had a change of heart over Bridge.
"The transfer window is open until the end of January and all that time anything can happen," said Mourinho.
"New players, no. But one player may want to leave to try to find a better situation until the end of the season and that is possible if, I repeat if, the player is very, very interested.
"Not because we want him to go because we are happy with the squad we have at the moment. But if somebody, one player, not two, three or four, is really interested in going for a different situation then we will go for it."
