Alex Tettey’s time at Norwich City will extend into a ninth season, with the Canaries’ longest serving current player signing a new one-year deal – despite uncertainty over which division the club will be playing in.
The former Norway international will celebrate his 34th birthday in April but has remained a regular under head coach Daniel Farke in the top flight this season, scoring once in 19 games.
With City sitting bottom of the Premier League and seven points from safety with 13 games to play, the new deal could well mean a return to Championship football for Tettey, but that hasn't prevented him from extending his terms until 2021.
"It's massive for me," Tettey told City's website. "It feels so good to be in Norwich and my family are happy. When my family is happy, I'm happy. I have been for many years since I've been here, so it's nothing new to me, but it's a very big and positive thing for me.
"I do give advice whenever it's necessary, but you don't want to be on the young players all the time because you have to give them some room to grow and learn themselves. All the senior guys do give advice.
"There have been a few ups and downs throughout my time, but Wembley (in 2015) was a standout moment, as was winning the Championship trophy in 2019. They were huge."
Signed from Rennes in 2012 in a deal reportedly worth around £3million, Tettey is on the verge of moving into the Canaries' all-time top 50 appearance makers, with 228 to his name, leaving him four short of drawing level with Malky Mackay and Martin Peters in 50th place.
If the former Rosenborg favourite remains a regular then he could even break into the top 30 next season, with Peter Mendham and Chris Woods on 267 appearances in joint 30th - which could even keep alive the opportunity of a 10th campaign and a testimonial.
MORE: Norwich City top 100 appearances
Given such lengthy service is rare in the modern game, it's quite possible that the Canaries would look to afford Tettey such an honour regardless of whether his career does reach a 10th season, having remained with the club after top-flight relegations in 2014 and 2016, playing a key role in the subsequent Championship promotions of 2015 and 2019.
There have been just 16 outfield players older than Tettey in the Premier League this season but of that experienced group only Manchester City and Brazil midfielder Fernandinho has made more appearances than City's combative stalwart.
MORE: Search for an heir to Tettey's defensive midfield crown goes on for Canaries
The Ghana-born battler moved to Norway as a 12-year-old and went on to be capped 34 times by the Scandinavian nation, scoring three goals, but deciding to retire from international action at the age of 30 as he struggled with knee problems.
That decision has paid off and Tettey has remained a regular for Norwich, taking a wage cut to keep his settled family in Norfolk when signing a new contract in May 2018, when his contract had been due to expire - signing just a few days before the final game of the season.
He then made 30 appearances during 2018-19, missing around two months of the second half of the campaign with injury, as City romped to the Championship title under Daniel Farke.
Tettey has scored just eight goals during his 228 matches but one of them has gone down as one of the best in Carrow Road history, smashing in a 25-yard volley against Sunderland in a 2-0 win in the Premier League in March 2014.
- See above for a bonus edition of the Pink Un Podcast as our Canaries correspondents Paddy Davitt and David Freezer discuss Tettey's new contract
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