Bailey Wright was not short of offers over the summer as his contract ran down - but he insists re-signing for Sunderland was always his priority. Following the club's Wembley play-off win which secured promotion to the Championship, Wright's deal was due to expire at the end of June but Sunderland made it clear to him, and also publicly, that they wanted him to stay on Wearside and that they would be offering him a new contract.
And, after a summer which took him away on international duty as he helped Australia qualify for this winter's World Cup, he put pen to paper on a two-year deal last week after returning to the North East for pre-season training. The chance to continue working with head coach Alex Neil played a major part in Wright's decision to stay, but so too did the opportunity to be part of the club's journey as it makes the step up back to the Championship after a four-year hiatus.
"I had meetings with the gaffer [Alex Neil] and with Kristjaan [Speakman, Sunderland's sporting director] after our win at Wembley and they let me know then that they wanted to keep me here and were going to offer me a new deal," the 29-year-old told ChronicleLive. "The way last season went, working with the gaffer and being part of this club, it was special and it was an honour to represent the club.
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"I knew that the possibility of extending that was there and once we met and agreed everything over the summer, it was just a matter of when I was back in to get everything signed off. I'm delighted, it's a massive club and it's a club that is definitely heading in the right direction.
"I'm excited for the future and I want to continue the journey and give my all for the badge. Naturally, there were opportunities elsewhere and you do listen to those, but I always knew where I wanted to be and it is quite obvious that it was just a case of getting things sorted and making sure that Sunderland were happy and I was happy.
"It wasn't a very difficult decision, if I'm honest, because my relationship here is really good. I've really enjoyed working with the gaffer, I feel he is someone who gets the best out of me and that's important in your career."
After being in and out of the side under previous boss Lee Johnson last term, Wright became a mainstay when Neil took over in February and he started every game under the Scot as the club secured a play-off spot and ultimately promotion. Wright said: "He's a great person and a really good manager as well.
"What we achieved last season, and his record from when he came in, was pretty impressive and that is not by luck, that's by pure hard work. He's definitely the hardest-working person in this building [the Academy of Light] to give you the platform every day to go on and win games and achieve promotion, and I think he probably wanted that more than anyone.
"To continue to learn and to work with him was obviously a big part of why I wanted to stay here."
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