GILLINGHAM manager Andy Hessenthaler has admitted for the first time that he expects to lose promising defender Nyron Nosworthy to a Premier League club.

His disclosure comes after Saturday's defeat in a pre-season friendly by Tottenham whose director of football, David Pleat, has long maintained a watching brief on the 21-year-old.

Nosworthy endorsed his credentials with an outstanding performance against Spurs. Hessenthaler said: "I expect to get calls about him. And if a Premier League club came in for him we wouldn't stand in his way. If he keeps developing the way he has then he'll go all the way into the Premier League."

The Gills boss wants to keep French striker Mama Sidibe, though wages could prove a stumbling block to a permanent move. Sidibe is also wanted by Queens Park Rangers after playing for them on trial after leaving Swansea.