Friday 1 July 2016 15:09, UK
Watford forward Troy Deeney has signed a new five-year contract at Vicarage Road.
Negotiations have been ongoing throughout the summer as Watford sought to keep their captain amid interest from Premier League champions Leicester City, who had a £20m bid rejected for the 28-year-old.
The news is a welcome boost for Watford as the club attempts to ward off interest in Deeney's strike partner Odion Ighalo from Shanghai SIPG. The Hornets have rejected a £37.5m bid for Ighalo from the Chinese club, according to Sky sources.
Speaking to the club's official website, Deeney said: "This club really means business and I want to be part of this. I've listened carefully to everything the club has had to say to me recently.
"We've talked things through in a sensible way - and it's helped me fully deal with lots of my own thoughts.
"When you're right in the middle of something, maybe you take it for granted how quickly things are moving forward. I don't think I've done that; but by talking it over it's clear that Watford isn't ever going to settle for second-best - and that's how I want to feel about my career so it works for me."
Deeney enjoyed a stellar campaign last season as he found the net on 13 occasions in the Premier League and helped Watford finish a very respectable 13th in their first season back in the top flight of English football.
Scott Duxbury, the Hornets' CEO, said the club were determined to keep hold of Deeney, who has been with the club since 2010 and is closing on 100 goals since his arrival from Walsall.
"It's been important to have considered discussions. Views have been shared and debated and there has always been a healthy dialogue between myself, Troy and his agent," Duxbury said.
"Making big decisions is part of the accountability that comes with running a football club, and I'm aware of that.
"But for a player it's perhaps even more crucial, because it's about defining the future for you and your family, both professionally and personally.
"I have total respect for the time and diligence Troy has shown in coming to the conclusion he has."
