Kompany pens new deal

Vincent Kompany - who made his first appearance of the season yesterday at Wigan - has signed an extension to his current deal:

Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany has signed a new five-year deal with the Premier League club that will keep him at Eastlands until 2014.

Kompany, 23, was signed from German side Hamburg in August 2008.

I suppose the news came a little out of nowhere but perhaps - given he was only a year into his existing deal - brings him into a line with some of the bigger earners who arrived this summer. If so, we may be set to see some more restructuring of current deals for other squad members.

In signing the deal, Kompany highlighted the changing nature of the squad from that he found when he arrived last season:

“There has been no speculation (on reports linking him to a move away from the club) from my side because I have just signed the new deal but it is the kind of thing you have to get used to when you play for this club now."

“In the end you just don’t pay attention to the speculation. City’s ambitions are my ambitions and I want to be one of the main players in a very big team. We are now a mature side now and the big improvements this season have been in mentality and professionalism. That is why we are better than we were last season."

And although he faces a fight to get into the starting line up, Mark Hughes clearly sees him as the type of player that he wants to epitomise his squad:

“He has been desperate to get back into action and in fact we have had to hold him back a little since his operation in the summer such was his desire to return to action.

“But that is the kind of lad that he is. He is still only 23-years-old but is so mature in his outlook; that is why I made him captain last season on occasions. He wants to improve, he is ambitious and he is desperate for success. He was one of our most reliable performers last season and it is great that we have been able to secure his services for the next five years. It is another sign of our commitment to young talent. Vincent is a big part of our future.”