Erling Haaland has claimed that he does not find it hard to deal with the transfer speculation that has followed his remarkable run of goalscoring form this season.
The teenage Red Bull Salzburg striker is enjoying an excellent campaign and has scored eight goals in five Champions League games along with 16 in 14 matches in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Should Haaland score against Liverpool on Tuesday in their Group E finale, in which Salzburg could feasibly knock out the holders, he will become the first player to score in his first six Champions League matches.
The son of former Nottingham Foirest, Manchester City and Leeds star Alf-Inge Haaland, he made his senior debut for Norway in September. He has been compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic thanks to his 6'4 frame and lethal finishing.
Manchester United – managed by Haaland's former Molde coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – have been heavily linked with a move for the 19-year-old, while Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool have also been credited with interest in his services.
Haaland, however, has little interest in the rumours which have swirled around him this season.
"I just focus on my job, playing football, and to enjoy what I do every day and to go in with a clear mindset, to be in the present, and enjoy the moment right now," he told a press conference.
"That's my focus, to focus on Salzburg and me as a player. So it's not hard at all [dealing with transfer speculation]. I'm enjoying every day and playing football."
Asked about Haaland ahead of Liverpool's clash with Salzburg, Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for the teenager. "He is 19 years old and he is a very good striker, so how do you defend him? Try to make sure he doesn't get many balls. He is a big, big talent.
"Like the best strikers, you try to cut the ball from them. But he's not the only strong player they [Salzburg] have."
Ahead of Liverpool's first match against Salzburg in October, Klopp was similarly complimentary. "He is a wonderful player: very young, very confident, very quick," he said. "He looks clear-minded and focused on the pitch.
“He looks a decent player and is in the perfect place at the moment."