Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers believes Raheem Sterling's advisers will agree a deal to keep him at Anfield despite the threat of missing out on Champions League football next season.
The 20-year-old winger's agents, Impact Sports Management, have been in talks with Anfield chief executive Ian Ayre to extend a contract that currently runs until 2017.
However, there is no indication that a deal will be signed soon, even though Rodgers revealed in early October that discussions were underway.
Liverpool exited the Champions League at the group stage after a 1-1 draw against Basel on Dec. 9, and are struggling to qualify for next season's competition.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have both been linked with Sterling, who has established himself as an England regular within the last 12 months.
Rodgers acknowledges that it is inevitable that leading European clubs will be linked with the player, but insists it is not a distraction.
"I'll never be surprised that teams are linked with Raheem," he said. "He's such a big talent, who's just turned 20 years of age. He's a wonderful young player and a very mature young man. I'm quite relaxed about it.
"We're a club who are trying to build something here. We were on a path for a couple of years, and we've had to come off that path since the summer. We lost some players and we've had to regroup again.
"He's a real talisman for this team. He's been a great example of the progress that a lot of the players have made here. He's gone from being the youngest team player to one of the top players in European football.
"The club, I'm sure, will work very hard, and Raheem's happy here. He loves being a Liverpool player. So I'm sure, between the club and the representatives, we can get a deal done that sees him go on and develop what is an exciting career."
Rodgers is full of praise for the performances of Sterling this season in a side that has struggled for wins, picking him out as one of his better players in Sunday's 3-0 Premier League defeat at Manchester United.
"I think Raheem's been brilliant," he added. "I think he's been absolutely outstanding. The kid played in a front row for me at the weekend, as a striker, moving across the line.
"He puts defenders on the back foot. He has intelligence in his game, he has running ability, he has speed, he can press the ball. He's getting himself into wonderful positions.
"The kid has been a real catalyst for us in terms of our attacking threat. So I don't think there's any way that anything's affecting him [in terms of speculation].
"I think he's the type of boy who leaves his representatives to work with the club to organise the deal for him. He has no real influence on that.
"All I ever ask him to do is just concentrate on his football, on preparing himself well and getting himself ready for training, and the performances will come. He's shown consistently that he's a real threat. He's a top young player."