Tuesday 29 July 2014 13:47, UK
Karl Darlow considers transfer talk to be 'a compliment' but insists he is happy being a regular at Nottingham Forest.
The 23-year-old goalkeeper continues to be heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur rumoured to have been tracking him for some time.
No official approach for his services has been made, though, and Darlow is readying himself for the 2014/15 campaign at the City Ground.
That is where he intends to stay for the foreseeable future, with game time of greater benefit to him at this stage of his career than a squad standing at a top flight heavyweight.
It is a compliment, isn’t it, being linked with Premier League clubs. But nothing has happened and I still have three years left on my contract here.
Darlow said in the Nottingham Evening Post: “It is a compliment, isn’t it, being linked with Premier League clubs. But nothing has happened and I still have three years left on my contract here.
“I am very happy with the club and I am very happy playing. When I am playing is when I am at my happiest.
“When you come out and play every weekend, you cannot beat that.
“I want to play football every week. I want that pressure of being in front of thousands of fans.
“That is when I am at my best, that is when I am happiest performing. So, yes, I am happy here.”
Darlow is a product of Forest’s academy system and sees one of those treading a similar path, Dimitar Evtimov, returning to the Reds’ ranks better equipped to challenge for his number one jersey on the back of a competitive loan spell.
He added: “It is excellent for him. He is a top lad and has been great since he came back in. He can be a top goalkeeper.
“He is going out on loan now, to Wrexham I believe, so he can get some games under his belt, just like I did when I was a similar age.
“You can’t beat playing games. It is better than playing for the U21 side.
“I went to Newport to play and it is the best way to learn. Go and play men’s football, make a few mistakes and learn your trade.”
