Mikel Arteta, the Everton midfielder, has agreed a new five-year deal which the club hope will end speculation that the Spaniard could leave. The 28-year-old Arteta, who has been linked with a return to Barcelona, his former club, said yesterday that during the off-season he has realised "how important I am to the club and how important the club is to me". "The chairman and the manager wanted me to stay 120 per cent and that makes me feel proud," he said. "We are all seeing the club and the future in the same way and that is special - something that you don't always find. I believe in this squad. We have got a very strong squad now and it is getting difficult to pick an 11 because of the players we have."
Bill Kenwright, the chairman, described Arteta as "one of the finest players ever to wear an Everton shirt". He is the fifth Everton player to agree a new contract since the end of last season, with Tim Cahill, Seamus Coleman, Jack Rodwell and Leighton Baines also committing themselves to the Merseysiders. Elsewhere, Fabrice Muamba has committed his future to Bolton Wanderers, signing a new four-year contract.
The 22-year-old midfielder has become a key player at the Reebok Stadium since joining from Birmingham two years ago. His new deal will keep him at Bolton until the summer of 2014. And the England Under 21 international, who was two years into the four-year deal he signed when he joined Wanderers, is now looking forward to staying in the north west of England for the long term. "I'm happy, my family is happy - everybody is happy," he told the club's official website
Blackburn have reached a deal with Manchester United to take promising striker Mame Biram Diouf, 22, on a season-long loan. * Agencies