Kyle Naughton has agreed terms for a new one-year contract with Swansea City.
The experienced defender has been pivotal figure under Russell Martin this term, with Swansea's win percentage being significantly higher with Naughton in the side than without. His current deal is due to expire in the summer.
But ahead of the Swans' Championship clash with Barnsley on Good Friday, it has been confirmed that Naughton has agreed a deal that will see him stay at the club for an additional year.
“It’s huge. Hopefully he’ll get it signed after this weekend," said head coach Martin. “I’m so pleased. A lot of people questioned the position he was playing in the team early on. We knew how important he would be.
“I played with him, so I knew how good a footballer he is. He was a young man when I played with him. He came on loan, and he’s so mature, intelligent, relaxed but focused. His mentality is brilliant.
“He is well respected by the other players – they appreciate how good he is. They’ll [team-mates] speak about him in glowing terms.
“Sometimes the more senior player, the more scar tissue they have from their career. The way we play can be really difficult. You have to be open to being a little bit vulnerable, to make some mistakes, sometimes in front of many thousands of people, which is not easy.
“To overcome that and battle against that and ride through it, he’s been incredible. When people see him at 33 taking on new ideas, it’s so easy to transmit it to the other players.
“I love Kyle, we love working with him, we all do. No ego, unassuming and just a brilliant person. The fact he wants to stay and the club have recognised how important he is, it’s really positive for us. We are so pleased he will be a big part of what we are doing next year."
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Korey Smith, Yan Dhanda and Ben Hamer are among those whose contracts expire in the summer. Hannes Wolf and Cyrus Christie will also see their loan deals run out following the conclusion of the current campaign.
And Martin has revealed conversations have already been held with those who will be out of contract in the near future. "They all know where they stand," added Martin.
"We’ve had conversations about it. Some accept that because of the position they play and the amount of numbers we have in that position, we have to wait a bit longer. Some accept that they might have to look elsewhere in the summer. Everyone knows where they’re at.
"The rest we’ll just have to wait a little bit longer. There’s a few weeks left of the season. It’ll all become really clear then. We had conversations with those players and they're comfortable with where they’re at and where it’s going."
