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West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell will continue his career at Upton Park, after signing a fresh five-year deal with the Hammers as confirmed by the club through its official website. The 25-year-old was subject to a lot of interest from Chelsea and Man City after a stellar season at the club, but chose to decline their advances and took the long-term deal that was being offered by his parent club.
The left-back was signed from Ipswich for an undisclosed fee in the summer transfer window last year, and went on to play every game of his debut season in the top flight. His consistency throughout the campaign earned him the Hammers’ Player of the Year, and Player’s Player of the Year accolades, and the club’s hierarchy have now tied him down to a long-term contract to fend off interest from other clubs.
With the advent of new rules regarding home-grown talent, big clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea were reported to be interested in signing the Englishman. In fact, several sources reported that Cresswell would be a £20m replacement for Chelsea flop Filipe Luis, although that did not pan out.
Cresswell’s new deal will see him play for the club until the end of the 2020 season, with the option of a two-year extension. The Hammer was in good spirits after penning the new deal, and he showed that during his interview with West Ham TV.
“It’s exciting times for me to pen a new deal at West Ham. Thankfully last year was a good season for me personally to play every minute of every game, so it’s nice to finally commit my future to West Ham,” he said.
He went on to add: “It’s going to be a massive year for us, the last year at Upton Park. But it’s exciting times going into one of the best stadiums in Europe, even in the world. It’s going to be a good summer, hopefully, a few more faces will come in and we’ll have a good year.”
The East London club started off the 2014-15 season brightly and occupied European positions until their campaign fell apart towards the end of the season. They finished in 12th place, but still managed to qualify for the Europa League after topping the league’s fair play standings.
They will start their European campaign in early July, and have already been busy in the market, signing French international midfielder Dimitri Payet from Marseille, Spanish midfielder Pedro Obiang and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Darren Randolph.
