Source: Daily_Mail
Spurs miss out on Kenwyne as striker signs new long-term deal at Sunderland
Final offer: Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones
Jones, welcoming his new deal, told Sky Sports News: "The chairman and the manager wanted me to stay and I was very happy to stay.
"The club is taking a new direction and I wanted to be part of that.
"I know what Ricky is about and what he wants to do. He has big plans for the club to take it to the next step and hopefully, in the next couple of seasons, that could happen.
"If you look at the fan base and the facilities that should tell you this is abig club and hopefully this is the start of something great."
Jones admitted he was relieved that his future had been resolved after all therecent speculation.
"The speculation unsettles the football club but now everyone can concentrate on getting results," he added.
Manager Ricky Sbragia told the club's website: 'I'm absolutely delighted that Kenwyne has committed to the club for the long term.
'He's young with a great future ahead of him and has already proven himself to be a key player for us.
'The fact that we've had interest from top clubs shows how much of an asset he is and it's fantastic that he will be a Sunderland player for many years to come.'
Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn added: 'We are building a team for the long term and Kenwyne is a big part of that.
Ricky Sbragia is delighted that Kenwyne Jones has signed a new contract with Sunderland
'In signing this new deal he's shown that he wants to be part of our future and believes in what Ricky and the club are doing.
'In the current economic climate, the figures bandied about for Kenwyne have been staggering, but we have shown our intent to build a bigger and better club for the future by retaining our best players.'
Jones arrived at Sunderland in the summer of 2007 in a£6million switch from Southampton as then manager Roy Keane added physical presence to his frontline for the challenge of life in the Premier League.
He finished his first season with seven goals, but contributed much more, prompting the Irishman to venture the opinion that he was worth as much as£40million.
The Black Cats were dealt a huge blow in June when Jones damaged knee ligaments in a clash with England goalkeeper David James during a friendly in Port of Spain.
He made his first appearance for the club this term as a substitute in the 2-1 derby victory over Newcastle on October 25 and has scored seven goals since in partnership with Djibril Cisse.
Jones has found himself in the headlines in recent weeks with Tottenham having mounted a concerted effort to attract him to White Hart Lane.
Sunderland rejected at least one bid from the Londoners, with reports suggesting they had offered£6million plus Darren Bent.
Sbragia, who replaced Keane in December, repeatedly insisted he wanted to keep Jones and said he would rather walk out of the club than sell his better players.
He also hit out at Spurs' tactics in trying to prise him away from Wearside, although Tottenham counterpart Harry Redknapp today mounted a robust defence of his club.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is now likely to turn to Lyon's Brazilian striker Fred, but has also refused to rule out a return to Spurs for out-of favour Liverpool striker Robbie Keane.
He said: 'As a player and a person I have a lot of time for Robbie. I think he's fantastic. I wouldn't say I wouldn't like to have him, I'd be a liar but he belongs to Liverpool so it is not an option.'
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