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EPL: Smalling extends Manchester United contract
Chris Smalling has signed a new contract with Manchester United which will keep him at the club until 2022.
The fresh terms penned by the long-serving defender include the option for a 12-month extension.
Another deal for the 29-year-old means that he will pass the 10-year mark at Old Trafford in 2020.
Smalling has been with the Red Devils since joining from Fulham in 2010, with a move agreed by Sir Alex Ferguson in the January of that year.
He has gone on take in over 300 appearances for the club and hopes there will be many more to come.
Smalling told United’s official website: “This is my ninth season with the club and I am delighted to be continuing my progression with this team.
“It is a real honour to play for Manchester United and we are all now concentrating on the busy schedule of games throughout the festive period.”
Smalling has been a regular again under Jose Mourinho this season, with United’s manager delighted to see an agreement reached with a long-serving stalwart.
He said: “I am very happy Chris has signed a new contract. Chris has been with the club for a number of years and is now one of the senior players within our squad.”
“It’s a great feeling to know that the manager and the club back me and I just want to repay them with many more games and good performances,” Smalling told MUTV .
“When I first signed, I never envisaged that I would stay for his long a time and it’s great to be able to last this long at a club and to try and help them.”
While delighted to have committed his long-term future to United, Smalling is aware of how important the present is for the Red Devils.
Mourinho’s men are due at Anfield on Sunday for a crunch Premier League clash with old adversaries Liverpool. (Goal)