Highly rated Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham has been frequently linked with a move away from Portman Road this season, but insists he is not distracted by the increased media speculation.
Latest reports suggest the 17-year-old England U21 international will be the subject of a £15million summer bid from Tottenham Hotspur with manager Harry Redknapp keen to bring Wickham to White Hart Lane on a long-term deal.
"I don't really read the papers, I just see it if it comes on the news or TV or if my mates from school tell me," Wickham told BBC Radio Suffolk as reported by bbc.co.uk.
"I know what's going on and it doesn't really affect me or faze me, I'm just letting my football do the talking," he added.
The Metro understands that Spurs are now leading the race to sign Wickham, and believe they have an agreement in place that will give them first refusal on the player when the transfer window reopens in June.
A Tottenham source is quoted as saying: “We feel we already have one hand on Connor.”
It was initially reported by the Daily Mail that Liverpool were considering a £10million January bid for the teenager, but it now appears that their decision to delay a formal offer until the summer will be met with competition from Spurs.
And despite claims that Wickham is a Liverpool fan - citing former Anfield hero Fernando Torres as his idol - it is understood he does not believe a switch to the Reds would be in the best interests of his future.
Liverpool Director of Football Strategy, Damien Comolli, is thought to have been monitoring Wickham's progress with Ipswich but he reportedly faces an impossible task in convincing the forward that a move to Anfield is his best option.
Having grabbed the headlines in recent weeks by scoring five goals in as many Championship games, Wickham has just been rewarded as the Npower Championship Player of the Month for February.
With his reputation continuing to grow, and after recently signing a contract extension to 2013 at his current club, a summer transfer tussle between Liverpool and Tottenham for the player’s services is inevitable.
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