Loved-up Emmanuel Fernandez tackles Rangers transfer talk and votes that caught him by surprise

Fernandez has been linked with Dutch side Feyenoord and is reportedly on the shortlists of several English Premier League clubs after an impressive first season with Rangers.

Fernandez, who last month won his first cap for Nigeria, arrived in Glasgow from Peterborough in England’s League One for a fee in excess of £3 million. While the 24-year-old started slowly at Ibrox, he is now one of the mainstays of the team and offers defensive stability plus a goal threat from set pieces.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premiership match at home to Motherwell, Fernandez appeared relaxed over the rumours of other clubs circling.

“Look, I don't really read into stuff like that,” he said. "I'm just focused on the job that I'm doing here. If there's noise going on, I'm happy for the noise.

“It's a great achievement, I guess, or something that you can look to knowing that you're doing well. But I feel like for me, right now, I'm focused on taking it game by game and winning the title and bringing it back for this club.

“I love it here.

“I see myself being here. I've still got four years left on my contract, whether that's to run down my contract. I'm happy I'm here. I'm happy to carry on being here.”

Rangers’ thoughts on team of year selection

Fernandez’s displays in the Scottish top flight landed him a place in the PFA team of the year, which is voted for by his peers.

“That was a bit of a shock because I started playing a bit late,” admitted the centre-half. “I think I started playing around November time. But to be named in there, I can't be more grateful to my teammates and the staff here, also for the recognition from the other players in the league.

“It's like something I probably didn't expect, but something I probably earned. It’s quite a moment my first season here. I came from Peterborough last year, and in my first season to get recognition to be in the team of the year, it's a moment you don't really forget, do you?”

Fernandez was the only Rangers player to be named in the team of the year and the Nigerian admitted being the sole representative from Govan caught him by surprise.

“Yeah, it did,” he said. “But I thought that it's hard for other people to vote, because throughout the season we've been fighting to be up there. There was a lot of players that have done very well this season.

“You can't change the votes. We were all a bit shocked, but it's fine.”

Rangers face a Motherwell side that had five representatives in the team of the year. A win for the hosts at Ibrox on Sunday will ramp up the pressure on leaders Hearts before they face Hibs later in the day.

Fernandez, however, knows the challenge posed by Jens Berthel Askou’s men. “It's a very good team,” he added. “The style of football they play. They take you into areas you don't really want to be defensively. When we played them this season, the key is staying together as a team and staying tight as a team and picking your moments when you want to press them or picking your moments when you want to do something.

“But I feel like the team is very good at this moment in time. I don't think there's many teams that could stop us, but we've just got to keep staying together and playing the football that we know we can play and taking opportunities.”

The Scottish Football Social Club is presented by BetSBK.com | 18+ | Gamble Responsibly