Tyrone Mings has insisted that he ignored speculation linking him with a move to the Premier League in the summer to continue his development at Ipswich Town.
Crystal Palace were believed to be among the top-flight clubs interested in signing the left-back, who has impressed since stepping into the void created by Aaron Cresswell's departure to West Ham United.
However, Mings was happy to accept Ipswich's refusal to sell him and has used the confidence gained from attracting such suitors to play an important role in Town's promising start to the Championship season.
He told the Green Un: "It didn't faze me. I spoke to the manager [Mick] McCarthy over the weekend and he said, 'I don't know if they put a bid in or what it is, but whatever it is, I am not letting you go.
"That was it really although it gave me confidence going into the next few games, that people were prepared to pay money for me and take that gamble I guess, on a player that had not played in the Premier League so early in his career. There's pros and cons, going there. Would I have got in the team straight away? I doubt it. Would I have got the development that I will probably get at Ipswich? Probably not.
"As nice as it would have been to go into the Premiership, Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor here have definitely got my best interests at heart, and I can't think of two better people to help me with my development. I think I get that here better than anywhere else."
The 21-year-old joined the Tractor Boys from non-league Chippenham Town in 2012.
Joe Fish
