SAINTS defender Jan Bednarek declared "I'm really happy" as the club confirmed he has signed a new three-year contract at St Mary's.

The 28 year old centre-back has been at Saints since 2017 and his fresh deal means he is now on course to take his time with the club to a full decade.

Bednarek, who has been capped 62 times with Poland at senior international level, moved to St Mary’s from Lech Poznan seven years ago.

He has gone on to make 223 appearances for the club, with 45 coming in the Championship last season as he played a key role in promotion back to the Premier League.

After signing his deal to 2027, Bednarek said: “I’m really happy. I think it's the right choice for me, for my family. We all are happy here.

"I think we found our happy place in life, and we just want to keep going, keep growing as a family, as a football player, as a football club.

"I think this is the right place for me right now. I think I'm in the right place, with the right manager and with the right fans.

"I think we created something special and I think this was the only one decision I could make to extend the contract and stay here.”

Saints have been in discussions with Bednarek, who was out of contract next summer, over a new deal since the club's promotion, the Daily Echo understands.

Saints manager Russell Martin was hopeful of convincing Bednarek to sign new terms throughout, starting him in all three league matches.

A contract offer is still open to star man Kyle Walker-Peters, who was assessing his options during the summer transfer window but remains at Saints.