Harpers Signs Extension

Last updated : 22 March 2006 By Richard Turrell

With Nicky Hammond working tirelessly to thrash out a new deal to resolve James Harpers future, the Royals midfielder has put pen to paper and committed himself for another two years at the Mad Stad. 25-year-old Harper, who's been instrumental in the teams success this season, looks set to add many more appearances to his growing total. After being linked with Charlton and a host of Dutch clubs in the last few months, he spoke honestly to the official site after putting pen to paper.

“Obviously I had other offers, they were attractive but I've been here five years now, seen a fair amount of success and hopefully there's more to come.”

“You've got to look after number one, people may disagree but nobodyelse will look after you. This place has a certain amount of pull for me, I'm a loyal person and I had to stay.”

“People were asking me what was happening but my agent gets paid to look after all of that. People were saying I was stalling but that's rubbish.”

Hammond, who was at the centre of the discussions added “I think that James' decision to stay despite interest from other clubs is a clear sign of the ambition and potential that he sees here.”