Lawrence extends Stoke contract

Stoke City's midfielder, Liam Lawrence has extended his contract with the club which would keep him at the Britannia Stadium until 2013.

This concludes weeks of negotiations between the player and the club over his future. He had two years left under his contract but wanted to improve it.

Speaking to the club's official website, Lawrence said :

I'm over the moon to have signed the deal.

I always knew it would get done, there was never any question of that, and now I can concentrate on performing on the pitch.

The club has changed so much from when I first come here, it's a different world.

Now to know that I will be spending the best years of my career here is fantastic.

He joined Stoke from Sunderland in 2007 at a fee of £500,000 and has scored 23 goals in 94 games for the Potters.