“I’m so happy to be back,” beamed the No25. “We have got that feeling of excitement around the training ground again, and it is definitely positive going into pre-season.
“It's always better to be fixed on your future, so it's great to be here another four years, and I'm really happy to now be a permanent West Ham player.
“I feel really good. I worked a lot during the summer to be prepared [for pre-season], and now we have the opportunity to work as a team.
“It was a difficult season last year for everyone, and it took me some time to adapt to the Premier League.
“I took a lot of time to be fit, and unfortunately I got injured a couple of times, so having this full pre-season is really important for me, and being part of the squad for the entirety of pre-season is going to help me perform to my best this year.
“But I think you always have something to learn, and sometimes you learn more in difficulties and losses, and I think I learnt a lot as a person and as a player, and it’s going to help me.
“It took some time to settle in and learn about the culture of the Club, the fans and the players, and I'm happy now because today I know where I am, and I’m very proud to represent our fans.
“I'm really focused on the team because that's the most important thing. We are a team, and I want the team to be the best it possibly can be next year because we have lots of quality here, from the players to the staff, to achieve a lot.
“I am confident we're going to create something big and are ready to try and achieve good things next year.”