Tadic signs new Southampton contract
Graziano Pelle, Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama have all left Southampton this summer but Dusan Tadic will not be joining them
Southampton have signed playmaker Dusan Tadic to a new four-year contract.
The 27-year-old, who joined Southampton from Twente in 2014, has been linked with a move away from St Mary's Stadium following manager Ronald Koeman's departure to Everton.
But he has now quashed talk of a potential exit by committing his future to the club until 2020.
Tadic scored nine goals and assisted 14 more in all competitions as Southampton achieved their highest Premier League finish last season by claiming sixth place.
And the Serbia international revealed that, although he had offers from elsewhere, he was impressed by the club's determination to keep him on the south coast.
"I am really pleased. I have had two beautiful years here and a great connection with the supporters and everyone in the club," Tadic told the club's official website.
"The club showed a lot of effort to keep me. There were other possibilities, but we recognised that the best is that I stay in Southampton.
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"I want to mention they put in a lot of effort for that, and I appreciate that."
Claude Puel's side have endured a turbulent close-season with key players departing the club, Sadio Mane, Victor Wanyama and Graziano Pelle all left to join Liverpool, Tottenham and Shandong Luneng respectively.
However, Executive Director of Football Les Reed said he is delighted that Tadic has joined Shane Long, Ryan Bertrand and Steven Davis in signing a new long-term deal.
"Dusan has been an important part of our success in the past two seasons with his creativity offering the team a valuable dimension," Reed said.