Australia midfielder Mark Milligan has admitted he is no stranger to transfer speculation as Bani Yas haggle over payment details to complete his long-mooted switch to the Arabian Gulf League.

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Milligan, 29, was the subject of a A$1 million (Dh2.88m) transfer offer from the Sky Blues last month which triggered a release clause in his Melbourne Victory contract. This marked the third time they had tried to purchase him since 2013.

The clubs are now negotiating about how the fee should be paid, with the A-League’s reigning champions attempting to get as much money up front as possible.

Speaking in Dubai during the Socceroos’ training camp ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup 2018 Qualifying opener at Kyrgyzstan, he stated he had learned not to be distracted by such developments.

“Not a lot has changed in the past few weeks, and the innuendo and speculation is something I’ve been dealing with a lot over the past few years and this transfer window, in that sense, has been no different,” the 39-times-capped international told Fairfax Media.

“After winning the title with Victory, I was able to enjoy the moment and have a week off but after that it was back on the training track and making sure I could prepare myself to do the best I could coming into this camp. It’s a very important camp because it’s the start of a new journey for us and that’s really all I’m focused on at the moment.”

The Victory captain is understood to have been offered a two-year contract to join the side who finished eighth in last term’s AGL. He originally turned them down in June 2013, with the Abu Dhabi-outfit pulling out of negotiations in January 2014 after falling to agree a transfer fee.

“These sorts of things have been around in my career for a long time,” he said.

“The transfer speculation has obviously come up a few times recently. But actually playing football, or being in camp, is my escape from that. 

“I’m getting a little bit older now and my love for the game is stronger than ever and I think during the finals series I showed that my focus is always on the job at hand.”