Millwall manager Gary Rowett says Jed Wallace was more concerned about not being able to play than the transfer speculation amid Nottingham Forest links, back in January.
Wallace, had been on the Reds' radar as Steve Cooper looked to strengthen his side following his appointment as manager back in September.
The 27-year-old caught the eye of Forest as he impressed for the Lions and has entered the final months of his contract at The Den.
But he suffered a quad injury in December, which kept him out of action for almost two months, having recently returned earlier this month.
And Rowett revealed he was more focussed on returning to full-fitness than paying attention to transfer speculation.
"Jed’s the type of player that he wants to be out playing football," Rowett said. "Part of his frustration, I don’t think it was necessarily the January situation, it was that he wanted to play.
"When you’re out injured and there’s loads of speculation that’s not particularly a great place for a player to be in. You want to be playing football and showing it on the pitch."
Wallace missed out on five league games due to injury, but the 47-year-old boss says his return made a difference.
"He’s come back in and put in a couple of really good performances," Rowett added. "He got chucked back into action really quickly just because of the necessity of it.
"We tried not to start him straightaway, we thought it would be unfair to chuck him right in from the start.
"Certainly the other night [against QPR], his overall energy, performance, movement, brightness was there for everyone to see.
"Long may that continue, he’s the type of player who wants to perform like that in every game.
"That competition for places is going to be useful for us when, finally, we have some options in forward areas rather than everyone being injured."
