Former Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson insists he is fully focused on Scotland duty despite being linked with Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus.
Ferguson has enjoyed a superb debut season in Italy since his £3 million transfer from Pittodrie to Serie A Bologna last summer.
The 23-year-old netted seven goals in the Italian top-flight and is on AC Milan and Juventus’ radars for a potential summer swoop.
Aberdeen inserted a 20% sell-on clause in the deal which took Ferguson from Pittodrie to Bologna, and the Dons will therefore be due a sizeable fee should the midfielder make move to Milan or Turin.
Ferguson insists he is not fazed by transfer speculation and is fully focused on Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualifying bid.
The Scots, who top their qualifying table, face Norway in Oslo on Saturday with Ferguson in contention to feature in the crunch qualifier.
On the links with AC Milan and Juventus, Ferguson said: “It’s nice to hear and see, whether it’s online or in the newspaper.
“But, genuinely, it doesn’t affect me in any way. I don’t think too much about it.
“I try to focus on what’s in front of me and while I’m here I’ll be fully focused on Scotland.
“Then when I go back over to Bologna it will be the same.
“Until something is actually for me, only then will it start to get into my mind a wee bit, but as of now, it doesn’t really affect me.”
Potential Aberdeen sell-on windfall
Bologna are reaping the rewards of scouring the Scottish market, having previously signed Aaron Hickey from Hearts for around £1.5m when he was 18 years old.
They sold Hickey to Brentford for £15m last summer.
Bologna look set to secure another huge profit when Ferguson eventually moves on, whether it is this summer or later.
Aberdeen would also land a major windfall due to their sell-on clause.
In March this year, Ferguson’s agent Bill McMurdo said £9m to £10m would be a “fair figure” for any club looking to land Ferguson.
Ferguson said: “Since I started playing professionally, there is always links here and there.
“It was the same when I was at Aberdeen.
“I’m used to that sort of thing now and it doesn’t really faze me too much.
“It doesn’t come into my mind – I just try to focus on the here and now.”
‘You grow as a person as well’
Ferguson scored in each of the last three Serie A games to take his goal tally for the season to seven.
One of those goals was in a 2-2 draw with Italian champions Napoli.
Manchester United legend Denis Law is the only Scot to better that goal return in the Italian top-flight.
Aberdonian Law, a Ballon d’Or winner in 1964, scored 10 times for Torino in the early 1960s.
Ferguson said: “When I moved to Aberdeen as a young boy, I took myself out of my comfort zone.
“I got better as a result and then felt I needed to move on.
“The full season has been good, but the highlight was my goal against Sassuolo when I won goal of the month.
“The other highlight was beating Inter Milan (1-0) before they reached the Champions League final.
“The football over there is different, but you really do learn a lot and I’ve improved massively since I moved.
“Obviously, one of the big aims was to break into this (Scotland) team and the only way I can do that is by keep getting better.
“All three European finals had Italian teams this season.
“Although they lost, it shows you the standard of the league is really high.
“When you move country there is a new culture so you grow as a person as well.
“It’s been really positive. I have improved massively because of the way the manager over there wants us to play. It’s total football, but it’s really good.
“There is still more to come.”
Challenge of battling for Scots start
Ferguson earned his sixth cap when introduced off the bench for John McGinn in the 83rd minute of the memorable 2-0 Euro 2024 qualifier victory over Spain in March.
His only start so far was in a friendly against Austria.
Ferguson accepts he faces intense competitions for a midfield start against players like McGinn (Aston Villa), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Scott McTominay (Manchester United) and Ryan Christie (Bournemouth).
However, it is a challenge he is ready to rise to.
Ferguson said: “It’s healthy, the manager will want that sort of competition.
“In midfield it’s a really, really high level.
“There are top players playing at the top level for Scotland and their clubs as well.
“It’s difficult to break in, but I know I need to improve and I need to keep getting better.
“I think I have improved over the last year and I just need to keep doing that, keep working away.
“Obviously you need to be patient when the guys in front of you have played at a really high level for Scotland.
“I will work as hard as I possibly can and try and catch the manager’s eye in training.”
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