CONFIRMED: Leighton Baines signs one-year contract at Everton

Everton left-back Leighton Baines has agreed a new deal to keep him at Goodison Park for another season.

Baines, 34, has been with the Blues since the summer of 2007, when he joined from Wigan Athletic for £6 million.

He has gone on to make more than 400 appearances for his boyhood club, though only eight of those came in 2018-19, as new signing Lucas Digne impressed in his place.

But despite his lack of game time lately, Baines has signed a fresh contract which will keep at Everton until next summer, and told Everton’s official website:

“I do feel as proud as when I first signed. As you get older, you realise the work you need to do to sustain the level required by the Club.

“And to be judged to be at that level in the later stages of your career is testament to the work you do. You take pride in it all.

“When you look at the back end of last season and how well we played and the results we picked up against some good teams it gives us plenty of optimism going into this season.

“We are confident about what we can do and striving to achieve success.”

Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images

Everton manager Marco Silva added his delight that Baines has signed on for another season, saying:

“It was vital for me to keep Leighton at Everton and I am very pleased to finalise his contract before we return for pre-season,” Silva told evertonfc.com.

“Leighton is part of the Club’s fabric and a top-class professional.

“Most importantly, Leighton is still an exceptionally good footballer and features in our vision for what we want to achieve at Everton.”

It has been a busy Wednesday for Everton; as well as confirmation of Baines’ new deal, midfielder Nikola Vlašić has made his loan move at CSKA Moscow permanent, while the Blues look set to secure the signing of André Gomes from Barcelona.