RB Leipzig's Emil Forsberg Responds to Manchester United Rumours

Emil Forsberg has said he is focused only on matters concerning RB Leipzig as speculation circulates that Manchester United are interested in making a move for the Bundesliga star. 

United manager Jose Mourinho was at the Friends Arena in Solna on Friday as Sweden beat Italy 1-0, but when informed Forsberg told German daily Bild (h/t ESPN FC's Stephan Uersfeld) he "also read that in the papers" and added his "focus is on RB."

Uersfeld detailed that Forsberg shares an agent with Victor Lindelof, Hasan Cetinkaya. Lindelof moved to Old Trafford from Benfica over the summer but has so far failed to make much of an impact.

Sweden later completed their 1-0 aggregate win over Italy on Monday to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and football writer Lars Pollmann highlighted that as a positive for any Swedes pinning hopes on Forsberg's form:

As well as Lindelof, United also have another star Swede among their ranks in the shape of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is on the road to recovery from a serious knee injury after signing a new deal at Old Trafford.

Ibrahimovic tweeted a photo of his compatriots after they qualified for the World Cup on Monday:

Uersfeld cited a report that mentioned it was "highly likely" Mourinho will launch a move to sign Forsberg.

But Leipzig will not be keen on losing another of their star midfielders in 2018, with Naby Keita already set to join Liverpool next summer, per BBC Sport.

Forsberg's ascension has been a swift one, and while he has only three goals and two assists this term, he lit up the Bundesliga in his debut 2016-17 campaign, notching eight goals and recording 19 assists, per WhoScored.com.

Leipzig have proved to be tough negotiators thus far and retained a bulk of their talent over the summer, but Forsberg, who boasts a knack for scoring goals and creating them, could be among the chief candidates to attract foreign interest:

The 26-year-old joined the German top-flight team from Malmo in 2015, and he's since gone on to become one of their stars, forming a fruitful bond with striker Timo Werner.

The Red Devils signed a tough-tackling player in Nemanja Matic this past summer, perhaps giving Mourinho more freedom to explore a creative option such as Forsberg this time around.