Declan Rice has hit back at the constant speculation over his future, claiming it has become "annoying".
The West Ham United midfielder has been linked with big-money moves to Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester United for the best part of a year. A fee of £100m has been touted for the England international, who has quickly become one of the most sought-after stars in the top flight.
But speaking in a revealing interview with Sky Sports , Rice outlined how he tries to ignore paper talk over his future and how happy he is at the London Stadium.
He said: "Everyone knows my relationship with the players here, the manager.
"I've never once complained, every time I put on the shirt I go out there and give it one hundred per cent and whatever happens off the pitch takes care of itself.
"I can't control that - what I can control is going out there and trying to be the best player. It's annoying (speculation) because of the numbers that get attached to your name. You can't control that at all but there's stuff sometimes that you see and you read that you don't want to hear, because it's not really true in a way.
"All I can do is go out on the pitch and play football and be happy. For the last couple of seasons that's what I've done and that's the faith the manager has put in me, so all that speculation stuff, that's what comes with playing good, I suppose.
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"I think it's completely out of my mind [when on the field]. Nothing's officially happened. I've always said, until anything actually happens, there's no point talking about anything because I'm a West Ham player, I have a contract with West Ham and I'll always respect that. I know that I'm going to be the captain of West Ham this season, I know it's an honour."
Rice's contract at West Ham has two more years left to run although he turned down their latest offer of an extension. He has been made skipper of the Hammers following Mark Noble's retirement.
Boss David Moyes said of the decision to hand Rice the armband: "Well he’s been captain of the team most of the year, so when Mark’s not been playing he was captain of the team so I’ve not got any real reason to think that I wouldn’t make him that.
"But he’s a young man who is still learning. It might have been a bit easier for him, being the captain, knowing that Mark Noble was in the building because those two could work it out. Now Dec has to step up to another level, not just the way he plays on the pitch but his leadership off the pitch, dealing with a lot of the other things that go on."
West Ham begin their Premier League season at home to champions Manchester City on August 7.
