Southampton's Polish central defender Jan Bednarek has put pen to paper on a new deal at St Mary's, this comes only two years since it appeared he wanted away from the club and went on a ill fated loan to Aston Villa.
Jan Bednarek has signed a new deal at Southampton FC , signing up for another three seasons, meaning that be the end of it he will have spent a decade at St Mary's.
But two years ago it seemed that his career with Saints was heading for the exit door, he opted to go to Aston Villa on loan at the start of 2022/23 season, perhaps feeling that there was too much competition for places in the centre of defence with the arrival of Armel Bella-Kotchap alongside the likes of Mohammed Salisu & Lyanco.
At Villa he found it difficult to even get a chance in the team, making only 4 appearances in all competitions and the season long loan was terminated in January 2023 and he returned to St Mary's and started pretty much every game, putting in a lot more effort than some around him.
The 28 year old with 62 caps for his country, joined back in 2017 and took a little while to get used to his new surroundings, but he came into the side at the end of the season for his league debut, scoring in a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea and then a vital role in the final run in, forming a solid partnership with Wesley Hoedt as Saints firstly went to Leicester and got a 0-0 draw, then beat Bournemouth 2-1 at home, followed by a 1-1 draw at Everton.
In the penultimate game of the season he played a vital part in the win at Swansea City that effectively sealed safety, although he had to go off with 20 minutes to go with a head injury.
In his second season Mark Hughes would barely play him, but once he had been sacked, Bednarek came back into the side under Ralph Hassenhuttl and since then, that little sojourn at Villa aside, has mainly been a rock in the centre of our defence.
One of the few players in our current squad with extensive Premier League experience, it is good to see him sign a new deal.
Speaking on southamptonfc.com the clubs official website he had this to say.
"I’m really happy. I think it's the right choice for me, for my family. We all are happy here. I think we found our happy place in life, and we just want to keep going, keep growing as a family, as a football player, as a football club, so I think this is the right place for me right now.
"I think I'm in the right place, with the right manager, with the right fans. I think we created something special and I think this was the only one decision I could make to extend the contract and stay here.”