Cedric Soares addresses Southampton exit links as Chelsea announce arrival of Kylian Hazard

Southampton right-back and rumoured Chelsea target Cedric Soares is remaining coy on rumours linking him with high-profile transfer away from the club, insisting he is happy at St Mary's and will remain focused and professional amid all the speculation.

The German-born Portuguese international and European Championship winner has impressed for the Saints since arriving from Sporting Lisbon in a £4.7m ($6m) deal in2015 as the long-term successor to Nathaniel Clyne, making 64 appearances across all competitions under three different managers in Ronald Koeman, Claude Puel and Mauricio Pellegrino.

Such consistent form has certainly not gone unnoticed, with Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus previously said to be considering Cedric as a potential replacement for either Kyle Walker or Dani Alves.

Barcelona were also mentioned in connection with a possible swoop for his services as they ran the rule over several right-back targets - including Arsenal's Hector Bellerin - before eventually opting to recruit Nelson Semedo from Benfica.

The links to Chelsea have been more sustained, however, with Antonio Conte said to be searching for more competition for starting wing-backs Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso.

The Evening Standard reported earlier this month that the Blues had finally decided to follow up their interest after several months and were confident that Southampton could be persuaded to sell for a fee of between £15m and £20m. The same publication later claimed that it would actually take a "silly offer" for such a deal to come to fruition.

It can be easy for a player to become distracted as the rumour mill typically goes into overdrive, although Cedric's concentration remains fixed on the task at hand. The 25-year-old still has three years left to run on a contract extension penned in August 2016.

"I am have a contract with Southampton and I am working every day like I always do," he told the Daily Echo. "I am professional. Of course a player likes to know some big teams are interested in us and it's normal. We work every day. I have a contract. I am focused and what happens will happen.

"I have a contract and I am doing my best here. I am always professional and I am happy."

While it seems unlikely at this stage that Chelsea will sign Cedric before Thursday night's (31 August) 23.00 BST transfer deadline, the defending Premier League champions have announced the arrival of another Hazard sibling in the form of Eden's 22-year-old younger brother Kylian.

"Kylian Hazard has today signed for Chelsea from Hungarian side Ujpest, and will join our development squad," Chelsea said in a statement released via their official website.

"The 22-year-old, a younger brother of Eden, is an attacking midfielder who started his professional career in his native Belgium, first with White Star Brussels and then Zulte-Waregem. He joined Ujpest in the summer of 2015 and played 42 times for them."

Kylian is the third Hazard to be signed by Chelsea, with another of Eden's brothers, Thorgan, having spent three years with the Blues before joining loan club Borussia Monchengladbach on a permanent basis in 2015. Chelsea do retain a future buy-back option on the Belgian, however.