Football
Tom Marshall, Mexico correspondent 6y

Mexico's Hirving Lozano focused on World Cup amid PSV to Everton rumours

Hirving Lozano said he is solely focused on his role with Mexico at the 2018 World Cup amid links with a move from PSV Eindhoven to Everton.

Mexico winger Lozano, 22, is one of the young players to watch in Russia 2018 and a potential transfer from club side PSV has been rumored, but he maintains that his immediate objective is to focus on the World Cup with El Tri.

The move of Marcel Brands from PSV to become Everton sporting director has sparked some talk that 22-year-old Lozano could be a transfer target for the Premier League club, although Valencia have also been mentioned in recent days.

"Brands brought me to PSV, I'm grateful, happy, but I'm not thinking about whether I'm an option [for Everton]," said Lozano in a news conference on Monday. "If there is an option to leave we'll decide what is the best decision for me and my family, but I'm concentrating on the national team."

Lozano said he is calm about the speculation and believes he is a much improved player that the one that set sail from Pachuca to PSV last summer.

"I've got much better, I've learned many things and I feel very good" he said.

Winger Javier Aquino scraped into the Mexico squad at the last World Cup in Brazil after Luis Montes was injured, but believes this time around in Russia El Tri is better prepared to succeed.

"I feel a lot better with this group," said Aquino, who was sat alongside Lozano. "There is a very interesting mix of young and experienced players and they've achieved big things in Europe."

"I think that this national team is very complete and dynamic. There is a lot of hunger to win."

Aquino, 28, stated that he would like to return to Europe if an offer comes this summer and said the Mexico national team players are fully behind coach Juan Carlos Osorio, even if pundits outside the camp continue to criticize the Colombian.

"We are all convinced by the management of the coaching staff, it's different than those we have had before," said Aquino. "[Osorio] is concerned about every circumstance in order to analyze each of our opponents.

"He's a very prepared coach and he knows where he wants to take the team."

Strikers Oribe Peralta and Raul Jimenez and defender Edson Alvarez joined up with the Mexico squad at its base outside of Mexico City on Monday, making a group of 13 players in total. The rest are set to shuffle in depending on when their leagues finish and the length of their post-season breaks.

There are still concerns about injuries, however, with Nestor Araujo missing out for Santos Laguna as they lifted the Liga MX title on Sunday.

Araujo injured his left knee in Mexico's March 27 friendly against Croatia, but the Guadalajara native was initially expected to be back for the semifinal of the 2018 Clausura after undergoing surgery.

Araujo said after the game that he was "still not 100 percent" and would be speaking to Osorio about the matter.

Giovani dos Santos missed the LA Galaxy's 1-0 road victory over Montreal Impact on Monday, while Hector Moreno, Diego Reyes and Andres Guardado are all injury concerns.

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