Tom Cannon insists he never seriously considered leaving Sheffield United in the summer, despite interest from weekend opponents Stoke City, as he targets goals for the club he believes is a Premier League outfit.

Tom Cannon has made clear that he never seriously considered leaving Sheffield United in the summer, despite interest from elsewhere - including this weekend’s opponents, Stoke City. The striker was linked with a return to the club where he previously spent time on loan.

Another former club, Preston North End, were also keen, with United understood to have rebuffed at least one bid over the summer for their £10m investment. Cannon has repaid the faith with a good start to the season in front of goal.

If selected he will go into Wednesday night’s League Cup tie at Fleetwood Town looking for his fourth goal of the season, with Saturday’s trip to familiar territory following quickly.

Stoke’s interest went deep into the window, despite them also signing George Hirst from Ipswich Town, but Cannon admitted it didn’t play on his mind too much. “To be honest, it’s quite easy,” he said about dealing with speculation about his future.

“If you see rumours or whatever, half the time they are just that. Rumours. They’re just little things that a fan account has created on social media or something. I’ve got an agent, so he deals with all that.

“If I see something or something I don’t know is going to happen, he’ll phone me. So I kind of just leave it to him and let him crack on. If anything was going to happen, I’m sure my agent would know about it and not a fan account.”

Asked whether leaving United had ever entered his mind during the summer, Cannon was emphatic. “No, not at all,” he said.

“I want to be United’s No.9. In my eyes, it’s a Premier League club, so if I’m scoring goals for a Premier League club then it’s great.”

Cannon still believes Unitedites are yet to see the best of him in a United shirt, after taking a bit of time to fully get going since his big-money move from Leicester City last January.

“It’s always nice to score - as a striker, that’s obviously what you want to do,” he added. “But it’s also about what else you offer the team. My confidence is always high. I think it’s crucial to maintain that mental strength.

“Obviously, chances are going to come and go. There are going to be games where you might not get as many chances as you'd like. But you’ve got to maintain that thought process that the chances will come. And when they do, hopefully you can take them.”