Angelo Ogbonna has signed a new long-term deal with West Ham United which sees him commit his future to the Club until 2022.
The centre-back, who signed for the Club in 2015 from Italian champions Juventus, has put pen-to-paper on a five-year deal ahead of the Hammers’ second campaign at London Stadium.
Ogbonna missed the majority of the second half of the 2016/17 season through injury, but made a winning return to the side for the final game of the term – the 2-1 win at Burnley’s Turf Moor.
The defender is set to be fit to start pre-season with the rest of the squad and is delighted to have secured his long-term future in east London.
“I’m really grateful for this new deal,” said the Italian. “Our position last year was quite high and we are looking forward to improving next season.
“My target is that I can’t wait to get back playing. I think we have a long season ahead and for me my target is to be better than last season. We finished in 11th position but very close to 8th position and we know we can do better than what we did last year.
“I am excited to show my quality on the pitch and the support is always amazing, even when I had my injury. We have got lots of experience in the team at the moment, which is very good.”
After a frustrating five months sidelined with injury, Ogbonna will be keen to re-establish himself in Slaven Bilic’s side when the squad travel to the likes of Austria, Germany and Iceland this summer.
The fans are really important for us. I cannot compare our fans with other fans because we are West Ham, we are more than a club and we are a family.
Angelo Ogbonna
The 29-year-old was a key man for the Hammers during his debut season in English football, making 39 appearances in the year which saw the Irons finish seventh in the Premier League, their highest top flight placing for 14 years.
He also provided one of the most memorable moments of the final season at the Boleyn Ground, nodding home his only Hammers goal – an FA Cup fourth round replay winner late in extra-time – against Liverpool.
And now with a long-term deal in place, Ogbonna is hoping to provide the West Ham fans with more of those moments to saviour in years to come.
“The fans are really important for us,” he added. “I cannot compare our fans with other fans because we are West Ham, we are more than a club and we are a family.
“For us it’s important, even in this new stadium, that we have people behind us. It makes things much better for us.
“I’m very excited (for the start of the season). I cannot wait for the Manchester United game, not just me but also our whole team. Everyone wants to show themselves but we have to be focused and prepare for that game by working hard in pre-season.”