Town boss Kieran McKenna says centre-half Luke Woolfenden, who signed a new contract last week, is an important player who is “a representation” of the club’s progress from League One to the Premier League.
Woolfenden, 26, whose existing deal was up this summer, penned terms which will keep him at the club he joined as an 11-year-old until the summer of 2027, only a couple of months short of 10 years after he made his senior debut.
"We’re pleased,” McKenna said. "I think Luke’s both an important player for us for the here and now, he’s performed well this year in the opportunities and the games that he’s played in.
"And he’s also an important member of the squad and really a representation of the journey the club’s been on.
"With Harry [Clarke] being out on loan, Cameron [Humphreys] being out on loan, he’s the player who has been here the longest, the only one who has been through the academy and has that connection with the academy.
"But he has also been through the more difficult times here and has that context and can share that context with others in the position that we’re in now; some of the challenges we face now compared to some of the challenges that the club faced a few years ago.
"He’s both an important member of the team but an important member of the club and deserves his new contract, and I think he’s still improving, still developing.
"Centre-halves develop a little bit later sometimes and I think he’s still improving different aspects of his game and I’m sure he’s going to keep working to do so.”