Kenwyne Jones

By The Black Cats
January 31 2009

Kenwyne Jones today committed his long-term future to Sunderland. The striker has signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with the Black Cats, keeping him at the Stadium of Light until 2013 at least. Jones had attracted strong interest from a number of Barclays Premier League clubs. Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia said: "I'm absolutely delighted that Kenwyne has committed to the club for the long term.

"He's got a great future ahead of him and has already proven himself to be a key player for us.

"The fact that we've had interest from top clubs shows how much of an asset he is, and it's fantastic that he will be a Sunderland player for many years to come."

Niall Quinn, the club's chairman, added: "We're building a team for the long term and Kenwyne is a big part of that. In signing this deal he's shown that he wants to be part of our future and believes in what Ricky and the club are doing.

"In the current economic climate, the figures bandied around for Kenwyne have been staggering, but we have shown our intent to build a bigger and better club for the future by retaining our best players."

Jones joined Sunderland from Southampton in August 2007 and quickly became a fans' favourite at the Stadium of Light.

The 24-year-old has scored seven goals in 16 games this season after returning from a serious knee injury in October.

Jones will return to the Black Cats' line-up for tonight's game against Fulham (7.45pm) after being named on the bench against Blackburn last Saturday.

Jones scored in the Cottagers' last visit to the Stadium of Light in October 2007. The game ended 1-1.

The frontman has scored 14 goals in 49 appearances for Sunderland.