[Everton](https://royalbluemersey.sbnation.com) will begin a new era in the storied club’s history when they kick off the 2025-26 Premier League season at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Bramley Moore Dock. However, they will be doing so with a familiar face in the playing squad, after the announcement earlier today that club captain Seamus Coleman would be coming back for his seventeenth season at the Toffees.
The 36-year-old was set to be a free agent at the end of the month with his current contract expiring, but the Republic of Ireland international has signed a new one-year deal that will keep him at the Blues as they begin the next phase.
Having joined the club in January 2009 from Sligo Rovers in Ireland for the now legendary £60,000 when David Moyes was the manager in his first spell at the club, he will now get one more season to play for the Scotsman.
Speaking to evertonfc, Coleman said -
> “I love Everton so to continue playing for this special club means everything to me and my family.
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> “Like every one of our passionate fans, I’ve lived and breathed what has been a difficult past few years for the Club and have put my heart and soul into doing all I can to help us get through it.
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> “Thanks to the hard work of many people, we’ve been able to get into our magnificent new stadium and pave the way for a brighter future under ambitious new owners, which I want to be part of.
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> “In David Moyes, we have the perfect manager to lead us into a new era. He showed his abilities once again with the way he had us playing after returning last season.
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> “As the man who brought me to Everton, I can’t speak highly enough of him. He gets this football club, the standards required every day, and what it means to play for Everton.
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> “He has helped stabilise the Club since his return and we have a manager who cares about Everton as much as I do.
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> “It’s well known we will have a lot of new faces in this summer and I hope I can help them settle in as quickly as possible. And after a disappointing time with injuries last season, my focus will be on working hard, spending as much time on the pitch as possible, and helping Everton any way I can.”
For his part, Moyes was full of praise for the fullback.
> “Seamus is more than just a player at Everton. He offers so many different qualities.
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> “His leadership, his professionalism and his humanity are second to none. He’s helped carry the Club through some difficult periods in the past few years and his influence in the dressing room has been key to that.
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> “He’s had to deal with some really difficult injuries, too, but he has done that and still been able to help inspire inside the dressing room at the same time.
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> “This could be a period of real change at the Club and I want somebody who can help deliver the messages of what it means to be an Everton footballer. Seamus has always done that and I know he will continue to do so as we move into a new era.”