Yann Sommer has insisted that he remains unfazed by speculation linking Borussia Monchengladbach's star players Thorgan Hazard and Alassane Plea with moves away from the club.
Gladbach have quietly enjoyed a stellar campaign in a year where table-topping Borussia Dortmund and a Bayern Munich side that started poorly have grabbed all the headlines.
They sit third in Bundesliga, just three points off Bayern and eight off Dortmund - a massive improvement so far from last season's disappointing ninth-placed finish.
And Hazard has proved one of Gladbach's standout individual players, notching 12 goals and nine assists from 22 appearances in all competitions, causing Sommer to single the forward out for particular praise.
"Thorgan is a player who can always surprise," the goalkeeper said, speaking exclusively to Goal and SPOX .
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"He is able at any time to create a new situation by dribbling, can use his team-mates and is fast. Because of his creativity, he is very hard to defend and therefore very important to us."
However, the Belgian's strong form has led to rumours both he and attacking team-mate Plea will be snapped up by bigger clubs - suggestions Sommer is not worried by.
"Football is a business and a lot is spoken and written. It is normal for rumours to be spread.
"We do not deal with such things within the squad, these things only rob energy. These are things that we do not need during the season.
"If you are successful as a team and the individual players perform well, other clubs automatically become aware of you. That's how the business works."
Sommer himself has been the subject of transfer speculation, which he believes to be a sign that he is performing well.
He stopped short, however, of committing his long-term future to the club beyond the end of his current contract.
"Such a rumour only arises if the player and the team are working well, so I would by no means label such reports as negative.
"I have a contract until 2021 and a lot can happen by then. I have not thought about things that come afterwards."
