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Winston Reid signs new West Ham contract

Winston Reid has ended the speculation surrounding his future by agreeing a new contract that ties him to West Ham United until 2021.

Reid, 26, joined the Hammers from Danish side FC Midtjylland in 2010 and has gone on to become an integral part of Sam Allardyce's side.

With the New Zealand international out of contract in the summer, there had been speculation that he was set to leave, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham having all been credited with an interest.

However, Reid has opted against a move elsewhere and agreed a new six-and-a-half year deal at Upton Park.

"Obviously I'm absolutely delighted to have signed a new contract with West Ham," Reid told fanbookz.com. "I've enjoyed my time here, and I just needed to make sure that the decision was a right one for me and my family.

"There were a lot of factors that I took into account when I was making my decision, but most importantly I felt that I was valued at the club. We will be improving in future seasons and I really feel at home here."

Reid, who left West Ham's Wednesday loss to Chelsea in the eighth minute with an apparent injury, said it was important to him to make sure wherever he ended up would be a good place for both himself and his family.

"It might have been frustrating for the fans to have it drag out for so long," said Reid. "But whenever I've been asked this [contract] question over the past few months it's just been when we've been negotiating.

"You don't sort something out in the course of one day, there's always got to be some sort of give or take when doing these things.

"There was no big drama towards it, and there was a lot of stuff in the press that was misleading with regards to my situation, but the main thing is that now we've got it sorted."

Reid said he's been encouraged in part by West Ham's 2014-15 campaign, but was even more encouraged about where the club was going in the future after to talking with club management and executives during the negotiation process.

"There's a lot that we can still improve on, and that was the main thing," said Reid.

"As long as we all work hard to improve ourselves each day we will get better, and that was the main objective. We want to get the club further up the league and I'm sure that we will in the coming years.

"Moving to the Olympic Stadium was a big factor for me in staying at the club, but it wasn't the deciding part of the deal, it was just one of many positive points. I'm looking forward to playing there, and it's going to be a massive opportunity for us as players and fans of the club to move to such a great facility."

Information from Kristin Heneage was used in this report.

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