Seamus Coleman has signed a new deal with Everton which will keep him at the club until 2018.
BY CHRIS MCNULTY
SEAMUS Coleman says he is ‘over the moon’ after signing a new five-and-a-half-year contract at Everton.
Coleman has penned a deal that will keep him at Goodison Park until the summer of 2018.
The 24-year old Killybegs man has been rewarded for some impressive displays again this season for the Merseyside club, who had been in a good run of form until their 2-1 defeat yesterday at home to Chelsea.
Coleman has recently donned the mantle as Giovanni Trapattoni’s number one right-back with the Republic of Ireland, having missed out on a place at Euro 2012, and David Moyes, the Everton manager, has tied the Donegal native down on a long-term deal that will please fans of the Toffees.
“I’m over the moon. I’m glad to get it all done and to sign for so long at a Club like Everton is a great achievement – I want to be here for as long as possible,” Coleman told evertontv.
“Signing a contract here is fantastic and I’m really looking forward to the next couple of years. ”I’m going to keep working as hard as I have done since day one and keep improving every day in training to impress the manager. I’m really happy to have signed for the length of time that I have.”
Coleman was signed by Everton from Sligo Rovers for £150,000stg in January 2009. He has played 67 times for the club, including 49 times in the Premier League.
He said: “I have had some great times already When I came over here first, it was just about breaking into the team. I had to go out on loan (to Blackpool) to get some experience and when I came back I got a lot of games around midfield, which I really enjoyed.”
Coleman has recently been back manning the right-back sentry for the club. He has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury. He said: “It’s never nice to miss games with injury. I’ve missed three games now with a little hamstring injury, but it’s nothing too serious, so hopefully I’ll be back n the next couple of games.
“The team is doing well and you don’t want to miss being a part of that.”
Coleman holds his manager, Moyes, in the highest esteem. On the Scot, Coleman added: “He is a great manager and for him to want me at the club for so long is a great confidence booster for me – I know now I need to pay him back on the pitch.”
In February, Coleman is likely to be a part of the Republic of Ireland’s team for the friendly against Poland, before the boys in green take on Sweden in a crunch World Cup qualifier in March.
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