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It's quietly been a decent couple of days for Reading FC. First they get Jaap Stam tied up on a new deal, now they've got the man who led us out at Wembley to pen a new contract.
Yes, Wales full-back Chris Gunter has ended the growing speculation linking him with Middlesbrough by signing a new three-year deal at Reading that'll keep him in Berkshire until 2020.
Speaking to the club's official site, boss Jaap Stam revealed his delight with the news.
“Chris has been a very important player for this club and was again last season, starting every single league game throughout the course of a long campaign. He has a lot of experience, both with his club and his country, he has great ability, mentally he’s strong and, importantly, you can always count on him! So I’m really pleased that the club have given him this new deal.”
Gunter has made more than 200 appearances for the club since joining from Nottingham Forest in 2012, easily the most of any current player. Rumours have linked him with an exit a few times before but the full-back has consistently said how happy he is at the club and this latest deal seems to reinforce that idea.
Performance wise we know what we get out of Gunter. As I wrote back in May, he's steady across the board but fails to stand out in any one particular area. However, as Becka argued back in January, he does bring a lot of consistency and stability to the squad, and that's something not to underestimate, especially in the Championship.
Gunter is rarely going to win you a game, yet he's very rarely going to lose you one either and it's a player you can pick in your squad week in, week out without having second thoughts. It's good to see the club getting him tied down to a new deal and it's now one less transfer rumour we have to deal with.
So are you happy Gunter's sticking around? Or would you have preferred to part ways this summer? In January, 93% of you wanted him to stay, so that should only leave 7% of you unhappy this morning right?