Danny Higginbotham has become the second Stoke defender this week to commit his future to the club by signing a new contract. After young centre back Ryan Shawcross inked a four and a half year deal, the left back-cum-centre half has agreed to extend his contract by a further year, meaning he should stay at the Britannia Stadium until at least the summer of 2012.

The 30 year-old first joined the Potters from Southampton in the summer of 2006, and quickly became a firm favourite with the fans, winning the player of the season award for the 2006/07 season and the club captaincy when Michael Duberry left for Reading that January. The bright lights of the Premier League beconned though, and he left the Potteries for Wearside in August 2007, joining Sunderland for £3 million, a move that led some Stoke fans to brand him a mercenary, or even a traitor. They were happy to welcome him back for £3.5 million when we were promoted a year later though, as he became a key part of our successful defence last season, though he has recently lost his place in Tony Pulis’s side to another former Sunderland player, Danny Collins.

Although Higginbotham hasn’t been playing much recently, he has proved at Stoke that he can be a useful player to have around, and, while the news of his new contract is far less exciting than that of Shawcross’s, his committing himself further to Stoke should be seen as a positive move for the club.

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