Deano next to commit...

Dean Whitehead has followed Liam Lawrence's lead by signing a new contract at the club.

Yesterday midfielder Liam Lawrence signed a contract extension till 2010, and today his midfield colleague, Dean Whitehead, has also signed an extension till 2011.

New boss Niall Quinn has previously rejected several bids for Whitehead from Premiership new boys Reading, and has signalled his clear intentions to keep his best players by having Whitehead pledge his future to the club.

Despite signing a two-year contract extension just 9 months ago, Whitehead has opted to further extend his deal, claiming that he is happy to stay at Sunderland for the next 5 years,

'I'm happy at the club and I'm looking forward to what we hope will be another successful season in the Championship' he told the club's official website.

His new gaffer Niall Quinn was also delighted to hold on to last season's player of the year,

'Dean is a talented footballer who will play a pivotal part in this club's progress. He has all the attributes to boss our midfield and drive this team forward.'

With Quinn disappointed to have lost Julio Arca due to a clause in his contract, the new chairman is eager to give his top players new contracts without similar get-out clauses that meant that he was powerless to prevent the popular Argentine to leave.

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