Sonny Carey says he is ignoring the background noise over his future and concentrating on his football.
The 20-year-old's star has shone brightest of all this season, and in recent weeks has attracted a number of scouts to The Walks. His opening free-kick goal against Chesterfield on Saturday will only have whetted the appetite of suitors.
Championship promotion chasers Bournemouth are among them, and with Carey’s contract up next summer the question of his next move is at an important stage.
“I just let all the noise in the background look after itself and I just focus on when I get on the pitch doing what the gaffer has told me to do and give 100pc for the team,” said Carey, who joined Lynn from Wroxham in June 2019.
“It’s good hearing the stuff but at the end of the day it is all talk and interest and that’s it until the end of the season and we will see what happens.”
Carey was always regarded as one for the future by Lynn boss Ian Culverhouse and even at the start of this season was not a regular starter. But his impact appearances off the bench began to make it more and more difficult to ignore the inevitable. The future had arrived.
“Talking about last season as well, I didn’t start as many games as I wanted,” he said. “I am 20 now and I want to play as much as I can. And with players being furloughed and stuff it leaves players to get their chance - I think I have come in and taken my chance well, I’ve been playing alright lately and I just have to keep my head down and keep playing well.”
The need to learn, balanced by the reluctance to push him into service too early soon changed, through a combination of his own performances and necessity.
Carey is perhaps fortunate that he has played alongside Cameron King who was starting to show the very best of himself until a recent injury. King was back on Saturday and there were moments when their partnership flourished, although it was difficult against a good Chesterfield side. Carey, though, acknowledges the role the former Norwich City youth player has had in his own rise to the surface.
“Me and Kingy have a good partnership,” he said. “We know each other well and it’s great to play alongside him. He knows where I’m going to be on the pitch and I know where he’s going to be. We do some good link-up play at tomes and it’s great playing alongside Kingy.”
Carey’s response to the added responsibility has been outstanding, the ensuing attention from outside wholly unsurprising. And for owner Stephen Cleeve and no doubt those that represent the Norwich youngster, a bit of a conundrum. How much is he worth? What is optimum sales time? And what is the best for Sonny Carey?
The player himself has just seen two team-mates leave within the space of 24 hours. First it was striker Adam Marriott, who has joined Eastleigh on a free transfer. Then on Saturday, came the news that another striker, Kairo Mitchell, had also gone.
It all became slightly farcical, given Mitchell was joining Saturday’s opponents, Chesterfield, and rolled up with their team, wearing their tracksuit – although the paperwork had not been completed. Lynn were somewhat non-plussed, Mitchell changed into neutral football attire and the paperwork will be sorted on Monday... with Lynn reportedly cashing a cheque for £25,000 with more to come if Chesterfield earn promotion.
If those figures are correct, it does rather heighten the importance Carey’s next move will have on the club’s finances which, like most other clubs, are not the healthiest.
Carey himself was blissfully unaware that two dressing room colleagues would be on their way.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” he said. “They both happened really quickly, but that is what football is like.
“If you are playing well - Kairo scored five or six goals in the last seven or eight games - he deserved to get his move to Chesterfield and I wish them both the best.”
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