AFC Bournemouth captain Simon Francis signed a new contract at the club earlier this week and has revealed that negotiations over a new deal didn’t take very long at all.
The 33-year-old defender was set to see his contract expire this time next year, but has now signed a one-year extension to that deal, extending his stay until the summer of 2020.
If he plays through that time it will mean that he has been an active member of the squad, through League One, Championship and Premier League for almost 9 years.
Next season he is likely to break the 300 appearances mark for AFC Bournemouth, having already clocked up 286 appearances for the Cherries since his initial loan move from Charlton Athletic in November 2011.
Francis told afcb.co.uk…
“I’m delighted to sign a new deal and am really looking forward to the next two years,
“The most important thing was to retain our Premier League status for another year and then once that was achieved it was a chance to sit down and discuss things.
“It all happened fairly quickly because negotiations don’t take too long when a player wants to stay at the club.
“The club have been great with me ever since I arrived. I feel I’ve performed to my best over the past seven years and feel very proud to be part of such a successful squad.”
Your say…
cockbeard wrote…
Is he the player he was a few years back, No. But he’s playing out of position, the best crosser at the club has changed positions and done better than many players asked to do the same. When we signed him I worked with a Charlton fan and I came straight on here and twitter whinging about a waste of money. I was proven wrong immediately and continued to be proven wrong. How many players of the season awards did he get, also made PFA team of the year in League One and Championship
If anyone thinks this is due to sentiment then they are sorely mistaken, “Sorry Fletch, can’t see you in the Championship, time to retire”, “No Bert, I can’t guarantee you game time, and won’t offer an extension, if you fancy the three year deal on the table from Mick I’ll let you go for free”, Franno still has something to offer, we do well with him in the team. It’s just like Surman, watch the ball and you don’t notice what they bring. Join the conversation, click here.
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