Stoke City manager Alex Neil says that the club have no intention to sell defender Harry Souttar.
The 24-year-old is currently part of the Australia squad for the World Cup in Qatar which has qualified for the knockout rounds of the tournament for the first time in 16 years.
He recently returned from a long-term injury for the Potters prior to the break and started all three games for the Socceroos in the group stage, keeping two clean sheets. Speculation about his future has intensified after his national team manager Graham Arnold urged Premier League clubs to make a move for him.
Top flight sides have been interested in Souttar previously, with the likes of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly keeping tabs on him in the past.
"Harry has been out for a year with an ACL injury," Arnold told the BBC. "He's played three games before he came in."
"There's so much belief in that boy.
"I know his mentality is so strong. And I tell you what - if I was a Premier League club, I'd be banging on the door real quick, he's that good."
Souttar is under contract at the bet365 Stadium until 2025 and Neil is not worried about the increased attention his centre half is getting.
"The fact is that if no one is interested in your players, it’s a problem isn’t it? If you’ve got good players and your team is performing well, you’re naturally going to have interest," Neil told the Stoke Sentinel.
"At any club, irrespective of what level you’re at, everyone is going to have their price. That’s always going to be the case, it doesn’t matter where you look.
"We have no aspirations to sell Harry, obviously, because he makes us better.
"But if we want to move the club forward and try to get the club out of the league, sometimes there are players that come along and that growth is really quick. When you look at it in a World Cup setting, it’s such an intense period and there’s so much scrutiny. If you think of years gone by and the amount of players who’ve moved on the back of a World Cup, even ones who came to Britain like Tomas Brolin, Martin Dahlin. I think there was one year when the Bulgarians did well and three or four landed in Scotland.
"We just need to wait and see but we’ve got no aspirations to do anything like that."
The Potters are currently 17th in the Championship, just two points above the relegation zone and Neil is hoping that a fully-fit Souttar can help his side climb the table.
The verdict
It is no surprise that rumours are increasing about Souttar's future.
He was highly-rated prior to his injury and now he is back fit and performing well, bigger clubs may soon be circling once again.
It is an outstanding achievement for Australia to make it through to the knockout stages and Souttar has been a key part of their team, with his national team manager full of praise for him.
Souttar has taken his chance to showcase his ability on the world stage during this tournament.
His immediate future looks secure due to the length of his contract and having only recently returned from such a long-term absence, clubs may wait to see how he performs domestically before making an offer.
Neil will be keen to keep hold of him as he looks to move the Potters away from the bottom three.
But Stoke will command a significant fee for him, so although it would be a blow from a footballing point of view if Souttar were to leave, it could be financially beneficial for the club and for Neil to reinvest in the squad.