Nicolas Tagliafico 'Enjoying' Ajax Time but Says Barcelona Interest Is 'Great'

Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico said "it's great" to hear of interest from the likes of Barcelona, but he is not thinking about the future as he is "enjoying life" with the Dutch club. 

Per MailOnline, the Argentinian is rumoured to be a target for Barca, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.

On the Catalan giants' interest, he told Mundo Deportivo (h/t MailOnline): "It's great that they talk about me, because that means things are going well. But I can only focus on the present."

However, he added: "I am enjoying life and football. We are privileged as footballers. Our work is something fascinating and something we love to do. I enjoy playing for the national team and my club. I can't think of what's coming, that's disrespectful to my club."

Tagliafico has caught the eye since he moved to Ajax in January last year, and he has continued to impress with the Dutch side this season after being one of Argentina's better performers at the FIFA World Cup.

StatsBomb offered some insight into how he's fared in the Eredivisie, where he's helped Ajax to second place after 26 matches:

He has five goals and as many assists in all competitions this season, with three of his strikes coming in the UEFA Champions League.

Tagliafico put in a strong showing over two legs as Ajax knocked out Real Madrid in the round of 16, and his performances on the European stage will have only enhanced the interest in him.

TalkSport's Lee Roden believes Atletico could be a viable destination:

At the Camp Nou, Tagliafico would have the unenviable task of unseating Jordi Alba to become Barcelona's first-choice left-back.

That would seem unlikely in the near future, so he'd have to be content with a back-up role at least in the short term. 

Alba turned 30 on Thursday, so there could be some scope for taking over further down the line, and in the meantime Tagliafico could provide depth and some competition for his position.

As for Arsenal, Nacho Monreal is now 33, while Sead Kolasinac is much more convincing going forward than he is at defending, so there's plenty of room there for Tagliafico to nail down a starting berth.