Burnley extend contracts of four key players and agree permanent deal for France Under 19 midfielder

The Clarets have agreed new contracts with Matt Lowton, Kevin Long and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who have extended their stays until June, 2023.

And the club have taken up an option to extend left back Erik Pieters's contract until the end of the 2021/22 season.

The quartet follow midfielders Jack Cork, Ashley Westwood and club captain Ben Mee in signing new deals to commit to the Clarets, with strikers Jay Rodriguez and Matej Vydra also having options taken up on their contracts earlier this season.

Boss Sean Dyche said: “It’s an important time with the transition of one chairman and owner to the next chairman and owners to make sure we’re planning – and I’ve said this all along – not just outside by recruitment but inside as well.

“We have to make sure good people, good players and good servants to the club remain so and in agreeing these contracts, they’re certainly putting their front foot forward and saying ‘yes, we want to be part of it, we enjoy the challenge and we want to take it on. And that’s the mentality we need.”

Gudmundsson, Lowton, Pieters and Long have made over 400 Burnley appearances between them.

Lowton, 31, leads the way with over 150 games since signing from Aston Villa in 2015 and helping the Clarets win promotion back to the Premier League in his first season.

Gudmundsson, 30, has made over 100 Premier League appearances as part of a squad which brought European football to Turf Moor three years ago, while Long, 30, extends his record as the club’s longest-serving player who has been an integral member of a squad that has played six of the last seven seasons in the top-flight.

And former Netherlands international Pieters, 32, has earned his contract extension after making 43 appearances since signing from Stoke City in July, 2019 and last season helping the Clarets secure their second top-10 finish in the Premier League.

“A lot of the players over our time here have been a very strong force in what we’ve achieved, and they continue to be that,” added Dyche.

“The main thing for me is players who want to re-sign for the hunger and desire to be part of Burnley Football Club.

“All the players who have re-signed this year have clearly shown that, with others possibly doing that as we go forward.”

The club have also completed the permanent signing of Gomez Mancini, activating a clause in the loan agreement that brought the France Under 19 international to Turf Moor on loan from Angers in September, to secure him on a deal until June, 2022.

The 19-year-old has impressed in the Clarets’ Under 23s so far this season and made it as far as the bench at first-team level.