Monday 19 October 2009

Kompany signs new deal

Very good news from the club today: Vincent Kompany has signed a new five year deal, committing him to City until 2014. Mark Hughes said of his second signing at City (I don't count that £19million monstrosity as one of Sparky's):
"Vincent is a model professional who has proved his worth time and time again in a variety of positions. He adapted very quickly to the Premier League and is a great asset to the team."

“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.”

This is great news: I love Kompany. He was one of our best players last season until his toe injury spoilt the second half of his season. I think that if he'd been fit to return to the Nordbank Arena we would not have lost 3-1 and could well have reached the semi-final. Not that it matters anymore.

It's also good news in the sense that he is willing to stay and fight for his place in the side. With Barcelona sniffing about (Yaya and Keita have African Nations Cup in January, leaving them with just three central midfielders) he could easily have left the club in a strop as Martin Petrov tried to do on deadline day. It is certainly going to be difficult given the quality of our squad. But with his ability to play centre back or holding midfield, and to do both with real ability and grace he should get a few games this season. He is one of the many players - like Roque Santa Cruz, Nedum Onuoha, Sylvinho, Martin Petrov, even Robinho - who, if we were in Europe, would start enough games this season to satisfy them. (Check out how many players at United started more than ten games in all competitions last year.) The key for Hughes is to convince them to sit tight this year, not expect to play every week, in the understanding that they will all have greater roles next season. In this case he's clearly succeeded.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kompany or Richards at Centre Half in absence of Toure?

No brainer for me , its Vincent ever time!

TPB said...

I'm not convinced this means he's definitely staying in the long term. Contracts these days in football don't mean all that much, especially in our case - shelling out large sums of money inevitably no longer shows the same signs of commitment in a player that it used to.

I think Kompany will stay but this new contract doesn't mean much.