Monaco's dressing room poked fun at Aurelien Tchouameni after he was linked with a move to Manchester United last year.
The French midfielder has been linked with a move to Old Trafford, dating back to last summer, as his stock continues to rise. Those rumours have resurfaced this week following the news that Erik Ten Hag is on the verge of becoming United's new boss.
But Tchouameni, who has also attracted interest from Chelsea and Real Madrid, has remained even-keeled amid all the noise surrounding his future to the point where he has become the subject of a long-running joke with his Monaco teammates after he made the front page of Spanish daily newspaper Marca.
When asked in November what he thinks about the growing interest in him, Tchouameni insisted he wasn't thinking too much of it. He told French outlet L'Equipe: "I remember I was in Paris, after the Nations League. I woke up and my phone had blown up.
"My father called me, we talked about everything and he told me that I was on the front page of Marca. I went on Twitter and saw for myself. I told him it was cool, but what does it actually matter? It doesn’t. The front page of Marca will not define me or allow me to perform well in matches.
"It's not real life, but it is the media world, the football business. They talk about me today but tomorrow, they’ll be talking about another. In the dressing room, they put the cover up and laughed’ ‘Oh, you’re leaving us already?’ It’s flattering, but I don’t wake up in the morning thinking about it."
Man United's interest in Tchouameni has ramped up with Ten Hag verbally agreeing to become their head coach. ESPN claims the Dutchman is 'keen' on signing the playmaker and is a huge admirer of his versatility. The report states that Monaco are open to negotiations and want between £50million and £60million for their prized asset.
But Tchouameni is continuing to ignore the speculation and insists he is "very happy" playing for Monaco. The midfielder is looking ahead to a bright future with what he believes is a "great" club.
He told Monaco's official website: "When I start something, I try to be the best I can be. I aspire to be one of the best players in Europe in my position. So I work every day to achieve this goal. This involves working at home or at the club, apart from the team’s training sessions.
"We are lucky here at AS Monaco to have very good infrastructure with the performance centre, which allows us all to optimize our training. For example, I’m just coming out of a core training session with the club’s physical trainer.
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"These are things I try to do regularly, especially for injury prevention. Today I am getting through matches without having any physical issues, so that means that I am working well on the side, with the physiotherapists, and the staff, in particular, to avoid muscular problems. At home, I also have a gym, and I sometimes put in a few more sessions, like last night, always under the direction of the team’s staff.
"Monaco are a very big French club with a wonderful history! Very great players have played here.. When I was at Bordeaux and heard of the club’s interest in me, I did not hesitate for a second to come here. I knew it could help me progress, with top facilities, and being a top project for young players. So today, I am very happy to be part of this great club."
