Harry Souttar insists his full focus is on breaking back into the Leicester squad after a summer of speculation.
The Australian international was tipped for an exit from the Championship club in the summer having failed to nail down a spot under Enzo Maresca.
And a possible move to Rangers was heavily speculated upon in the run-up to the end of the summer transfer window.
However, no such move materialised with Souttar remaining at Leicester.
Now, he has opened up on his situation at the club, admitting it has been "tough" with his future up in the air.
He said: "It’s been tough. I think there were a lot of things mentioned in the press about going on loan.
“I am a Leicester player. I’m going to do everything in my power to try to get back into the squad.
"Obviously it’s the manager’s decision so all I can do is work hard and try to prove to him that I can get back in the squad.”
While game time for Leicester has been hard to come by for Souttar, the defender was still backed by Australia boss Graham Arnold.
Souttar played the entirety of the 2-2 draw against Mexico yesterday and even scored the opener for his side, with Hibs' Martin Boyle scoring the second.
He featured on the bench for Leicester on the opening day of the season against Coventry but is yet to play a minute for his club competitively this term.
