Peterborough have confirmed the signing of Paul Jones, while Gabriel Zakuani has penned a new three-year contract.
Jones joins on free; Zakuani signs three-year Posh contract
Peterborough United have confirmed the signing of Paul Jones, while defender Gabriel Zakuani has penned a new three-year contract.
Free agent Jones has signed a one-year contract at London Road, as
revealed by skysports.com earlier on Friday.
Jones finished the campaign on loan with the promoted League One side from Exeter and he played a key role in their play-off success.
Director of football Barry Fry was keen to tie up the deal promptly, but had to wait for the keeper to return from holiday before securing his signature.
"Before the manager Darren Ferguson and the chairman Darragh MacAnthony went away on their holidays, I received my orders to sign Paul Jones straight away," Fry told the club's
official website.
"I haven't been able to because he has been on holiday, he flew in on Friday morning at 5am and came straight to the stadium to put pen to paper. We are absolutely delighted with that.
"The way he performed in the play-off second leg and the final against Huddersfield Town was outstanding and he is a major reason why we got promoted. He was thrown in the deep end.
"There are not many goalkeepers, if any, that have kept two clean sheets in two performances at Old Trafford. Paul was in the Exeter City side that drew 0-0 at Manchester United in the cup and obviously performed admirably against Huddersfield for us.
"He made over 200 appearances for Exeter, he is still only 24 and we are delighted to have him on board."
Boost
The club have also been boosted by defender Zakuani's decision to commit his long-term future to the Championship club.
The 25-year-old has made a big impact following his permanent switch from Fulham and Fry is delighted the stopper is staying at London Road.
"No matter who we sign this summer, there will not be a better signing than Gabriel Zakuani," he continued. "His passion and commitment for this club is second to none.
"He has played at least a dozen times when the medical staff have told him not too, but he was so determined to help us through a difficult time that he put himself through the pain barrier. He has made a major contribution in helping the club to two promotions to the Championship.
"People forget that Gabi is still a young man, as a teenager he cost Fulham over £1 million when they signed him from Leyton Orient and he has cost Peterborough over half a million pounds now, but we are delighted to extend his contract for another three years. He was out of contract next season that made a valuable asset to this football club very vulnerable.
"In this day and age it was a pleasure to deal with Gabi. When I told him that the manager wanted to offer him a new contract it took him just five minutes to say 'yes'. He is delighted to be a Peterborough United player."
