Antonio Rudiger has insisted he has not struggled to block out the noise surrounding his uncertain future at Chelsea beyond the end of this season.
The centre-back is approaching the final six months of his contact, and while he is open to staying at Chelsea and the Blues want to keep him around, an agreement over fresh terms is yet to be reached. As such, Rudiger has seen his name linked with nearly every top club as a result.
The 28-year-old is now one of the game's most in-demand player, but he stressed that he is not letting all the gossip get to his head.
"It has been easy [to ignore the rumours]," he said, via the club's official website. "There was also a lot of noise going when the last coach was sacked, a lot of negative rumours and stuff like this.
"I just kept doing what I'm doing. I don't get easily shaken."
Rudiger also discussed his relationship with manager Thomas Tuchel, whom he recently confessed opened the door for him to stay at Chelsea following a rocky spell under Frank Lampard.
"I would say our relationship is good," Rudiger continued. "It’s not that he’s hugging me every day because I’m not the type of person that needs something like this.
"He shows a lot of trust in playing me and it’s just common sense for me to deliver. He opened a new door for me and he’s played a big role."
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are three of many sides to have been linked with Rudiger, while there has also been speculation about interest from Premier League rivals Manchester United and Tottenham.
Chelsea hope to convince him to sign an extension. But a breakthrough is yet to happen and the same optimism over the extensions with Andreas Christensen and Thiago Silva is not shared.
Source : 90min