Preston North End central defender Paul Huntington and midfielder Daniel Johnson have committed their futures to the club, agreeing new contracts.
Huntington, the 2014/15 player of the year, has signed a contract until the summer of 2018, with the option of a further year, whilst last season’s top scorer, Johnson, has agreed a new three-year contract taking him to the summer of 2019.
Huntington joined the Lilywhites in the summer of 2012 and is closing in on 200 appearances for the club, whilst No.11 Johnson has made more than 70 starts since joining from Aston Villa in January 2015, scoring 17 goals along the way.
Speaking about his new deal, 28-year-old ‘Hunts’ was pleased to have settled his future, he said: “I'm delighted. This is my fifth year here now and I've enjoyed each year that I've been here.
“I feel as though we've progressed as a club and as a group. I'm really pleased to have got it done and to concentrate on the football now.”
Johnson was also delighted to know where his future lies, adding: “I've been wanting this to get sorted for a long time now and it's finally sorted. It takes a lot of pressure off me now and I can just concentrate on my football.
“It's been a really good 18 months or so for me, I've really enjoyed every single minute so far and hopefully I can kick on now this season.”
Manager Simon Grayson, who is hoping to tie up more of his current squad on extended stays at Deepdale in the coming weeks, thinks the stability of the dressing room is a key factor in getting the commitment of players on a long term basis.
“It's nice that we've got these two sorted, closely followed hopefully by a couple more in the next few days as well.
“It's all about making sure that you keep your best players and the players we have been talking to and the players that have signed were running into the last year of their contracts and we obviously want to keep them at the football club to make sure that we keep the nucleus of a very strong squad,” added the PNE boss.