Crystal Palace defender James Tomkins has reportedly signed a one-year contract extension at the club.
The 33-year-old centre-back has been with the Eagles since 2016 and has wracked up 128 appearances in that time but was at risk of leaving on a free with his deal set to expire at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Now, according to the Sun, Tomkins has put pen to paper on a new deal that will keep him in south London until the end of next season.
Tomkins was used sparingly by Patrick Vieira last season, featuring in only nine games across all competitions, but did provide useful cover for Joachim Andersen when the Danish international was out injured for a period in November, playing 90 minutes against Aston Villa, Leeds, Manchester United and Everton, even finding the back of the net in the 3-1 win against the Toffees.
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His manager was pleased with his performances during that time, telling reporters: "Players will get injured, players will get suspended and you just have to replace them. I think when you look at the way that James Tomkins played tonight, he played fantastically well. He defended quite well and he brought his experience to the team."
Palace were looking short of options at central defence following the news that Martin Kelly is to leave the club at the end of his current deal, leaving Tomkins, Marc Guehi and Andersen as the club’s centre-backs. To that end, the Eagles are looking to bolster their options in that position with several potential signings being looked at ahead of the new campaign.
Alongside Tomkins, the Sun are also reporting that midfielder James McArthur has also extended his stay at the club, with football.london reporting in April that the Scotsman had appeared to agree to fresh terms following a hint from Vieira. The Palace boss said: “We’ll have to manage him well [next season] and try to have him as much as we can on the field because he has this competitiveness, he's a real competitor on the field. When he is on the field he guides positive talk and we have a couple of players who need that. To have him on the field is important to us.”
Palace are yet to announce their list of released players for the end of the 2021/22 campaign and there are still a handful of players whose futures remain uncertain. There have been reports that Jordan Ayew has agreed to terms to a one-year extension at the club along with Tomkins and McArthur, though none are yet to be confirmed. Cheikhou Kouyate's contract is also up, with Vieira reportedly keen to keep the Senegal midfielder at Palace for another year.
