Taylor signs new five-year Newcastle deal
December 27, 2010
Newcastle defender Steven Taylor has ended speculation over his future by
finally signing a new five-and-a-half-year contract.
Taylor was transfer-listed earlier in the season after talks over a new deal
stalled.
However, both Taylor and new manager Alan Pardew had confirmed in recent
days that progress had been made and the announcement will keep the Academy
graduate at St James' Park until the summer of 2016.
Taylor becomes the third Newcastle player to sign a long-term deal in a
matter of weeks, following in the footsteps of Mike Williamson and Nile
Ranger, with striker Andrew Carroll having earlier also committed his future
to the club.
The defender said: "I am absolutely delighted to have agreed terms with the
club on a new long-term contract that will see me play for Newcastle United
in my prime years.
"I joined the club as a boy and feel confident that I can fulfil all my
professional ambitions here at my hometown club.
"Throughout the past few months, I have never lost hope that everything
could be sorted and that I could stay here and play for this fantastic
football club.''
"I would like to thank the fans for their support throughout the contract
negotiations and I'll look to repay them with my performances in the black
and white shirt.
"Also (I would like to thank former boss) Chris Hughton for bringing me back
into the team, Alan Pardew who made it clear from day one that he wanted me
to stay at the club, the board and management for their willingness to work
together to find an agreement and finally my agent Paul Stretford for always
having my best interests at heart.''
Former England Under-21 skipper Taylor has made 177 appearances for the club
but looked to be heading away from Tyneside when his contract talks reached
an impasse.
Several Premier League rivals were understood to be monitoring his
situation, and today's news will come as a boost to Pardew who is desperate
to keep the first team he inherited from Hughton together and add to it if
possible.
The manager said: "I've always really admired Steven Taylor and I thought it
was imperative that we kept him here. He's still young, he's a Geordie and
he's a top defender.
"He's played a lot of games for somebody his age, played in Europe and
captained his country at under-21 level, and that says everything you need
to know about him.
"Steven is somebody who can be a bedrock of our defence for a long time to
come, and it's great news that he's staying. I made it one of my priorities
when I arrived. Steven is just the sort of player that we need to keep at
this club.''
