West Brom head coach Roy Hodgson wants to resolve the long-term future of key defender Jonas Olsson sooner rather than later.
Hodgson is desperate to keep Olsson, who only has 15 months remaining of his current deal. He has opened talks over a new deal and Hodgson is keen for the Sweden international to commit himself to the Baggies.
"Jonas will be entering the last year of his contract next year and no club really wants that to happen with the players they are anxious to keep," said Hodgson.
"Albion and myself are anxious to keep Jonas. I can only hope the negotiations he and his advisor are having now with the club will be brought to a satisfactory conclusion.
"Talks are ongoing. We are not panicking he will walk out of the door in May, but the sooner the talks reach a conclusion, the better it is for everyone.
"It is nice to know what players you can rely upon when you are planning for the future."
Hodgson is hoping Olsson can enjoy the fruits of his labours after helping Albion establish themselves in the Barclays Premier League.
He said: "We think Jonas is a good player who has been here a few years, understands what we are about and plays a big part in helping us to achieve our goal.
"He deserves an awful lot of credit for what he has done so far. I think it would be nice if he could enjoy a couple of years enjoying the fruits of his work here. Part of his work has been getting us back into the Premier League but then it's been fighting hard at the bottom to keep us there.
"Maybe he could be looking ahead now, if the club is looking forward, to a few years where he can consider himself a bona fide Premier League player in a bona fide Premier League team."
Source: PA
