Bath give Ford the green light
Speculation surrounded Ford's future since the end of last season when his father Mike Ford was sacked as Bath's head coach.
However, the 23-year-old's contract runs until 2018 and reportedly contains a break clause – albeit one with a compensation payment attached. 
Some of the clubs interested in the flyhalf signature are Leicester, where Ford started his career and Sale Sharks.
Blackadder told the Daily Telegraph: "If George makes a decision to leave at the end of the year, that will be his decision and it will be one that we will respect.
"It is something for him and people who look after George and those decisions. I have not tried to get too deep with him, I just want him to really enjoy his rugby in the time we have left for him.
"He is really enjoying rugby. When he gets back here, he leads the team really well.
"There will be a lot of speculation around his future but we will be guided by what he wants to do and we'll just take it as it comes.
"It is one of those things with a player of his calibre and quality that there is always going to be a lot of speculation. It is just par for the course.
"For us, at Bath, it is really simple, we just want to enjoy what we are doing and focus on the rugby. Even for George, it is probably a distraction. We don't want it to be,"
Ford, who has won 30 international caps, played for Leicester from 2009 to 2013 and won a Premiership title in 2013 and the 2012 LV= Cup.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
