New Deal ‘Magnificent’ News For James
- Matty James says he has been handed an ‘amazing’ opportunity after signing a new four-year deal at Leicester City
- The Foxes midfielder praised the Club’s staff for their support following a lengthy lay-off due to injury
- James made his first start for City in 865 days at Arsenal during his side’s maiden 2017/18 Premier League fixture
James missed the entirety of the 2015/16 campaign with a serious knee problem and featured just once for City last term before spending five months on loan at Championship outfit Barnsley as part of his recovery.
Entering into the final year of his original contract, James says he did not feel the pressure of having to perform, but simply enjoyed being back training and playing for a club he has made over 100 appearances for since joining from Manchester United.
Speaking to LCFC TV after linking up with the squad following a brief spell away during the international break, James said: “It’s been really good. It’s given me a chance to unwind a little bit after a heavy pre-season and the first few Premier League games.
“For me, personally, it’s an amazing thing for me to be signing that deal. When you look back at where I was and how difficult it has been, I’ve overcome all of those obstacles and the reward at the end of it is a new four-year contract at the Club.
“I’m absolutely over the moon about it and I’m looking forward to putting in more good performances over the years.”
James' City Journey
The midfielder looks back on his career at the Foxes.
James believes a major factor that has aided his recovery has been the togetherness that is flowing through the Football Club.
“It’s been a great club for me since the first day I signed,” he continued. “With the injury spell that I did have, the support I received was magnificent.
“That’s why I’m really happy to prolong my career here and who knows after that four-year deal where that takes me.
"The staff that are here have been here for a long time. It’s quite a close-knit group and whoever comes in feels welcome.
“It makes you feel like you’ve been here much longer than you have. It’s also a family-orientated club – the fans are in it together.
“You turn up on a Saturday [at King Power Stadium] and to the away games and they’re there cheering the lads on.”
The Foxes have come a long way since James signed in 2012. City have completed the greatest escape the Premier League as ever seen, they have lifted the Championship and Premier League titles, and have competed in the UEFA Champions League.
Casting his mind back to when he first came to the Club, James said: “When I first joined, it was a transition for the Club. There were different managers and there was big money being spent.
“Before I arrived, quite a few of those players left and I arrived with numerous other lads. They just tried to bring in good, young, hungry players that were just trying to achieve.
“The first year I had here, we obviously had the play-offs, which not many people want to talk about but it was still a good season. We bounced back and finished on over 100 points in the Championship and then we had the Great Escape season.
“It’s been non-stop in the first three years. After that, I was injured, but the Club has carried on growing. It’s been one thing after another for this Football Club and it’s definitely gone in the right direction from when I first signed.”
With many wondering what is on the horizon after a stunning previous four campaigns, James was quick to point out that Premier League survival remains the priority.
The central midfielder continued: “People will ask what the achievements might be this season. We’ll go out and play every Premier League game like it’s our last and see where that takes us.
“I think at the minute, the Premier League is the best league in the world and anybody can beat anybody on their day. We’ll try and finish as high as possible and retain that Premier League status, which is what we want to do.”
With a full pre-season under his belt, including testing trips to Austria and Hong Kong, James feels better than ever and has been delighted at his involvement in the Premier League so far this term.
“I hadn’t had a pre-season for the last couple of years,” said James. “The last pre-season was up and down. I was in and out and I was always playing catch up.
“This time, it was all the way through. I was always training and it stood me in really good stead for the start of this season. It’s been excellent.
“I didn’t expect to be [involved] because I was coming back from a loan spell from Barnsley and it was just about trying to do as much as I could going into the last year of my contract.
“I just wanted to play as well as I could and see what happened. I’ve played in the first three Premier League games and it’s really enjoyable for me personally, but also for my family as well. Seeing me back in a Leicester City shirt is a great thing to me as well.
“I feel like the contract was a minor thing for me compared to what I’ve already been through. To not know if I was going to play football again, that’s pressure.
“That’s what I had to deal with and it was tough, so going into a last year of a contract feeling good, that wasn’t so much pressure, it was about enjoying it.”
His first start in 865 days for the Foxes came at Emirates Stadium on the opening day of City’s 2017/18 campaign and while beaten, James was thrilled to be back in Leicester colours.
He added: “The first game that we played against Arsenal, albeit it was away, it just felt like it was two minutes since I had a blue shirt on.
“It’s been a god knows how many days and it just felt like the day that I did it, this was the next game in a very strange way.
“The next game was at home to Brighton and again, just walking out was the natural thing. It felt like I was at home and it was just normal. The whole anxiety of that has gone away.”
Despite defeats at Arsenal and Manchester United, City’s No.22 believes Craig Shakespeare’s men can be proud of their early season displays given the amount of goalscoring opportunities they have yielded.
“To go to those places and come away that we were unlucky is a big thing,” the 26-year-old said. “It was just the lack of concentration in certain areas that we’ve got to try and nail down.
“Hopefully we can go to those kinds of places in the future and pick up something, but performance-wise we can be really pleased.
“We’ve been creating chances and that’s the way that Leicester have always played – a quick style of football, creating chances and feeling like you can win the game at any point.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Foxes, who next host Chelsea at King Power Stadium on Saturday – James knows his team-mates are capable of defeating the reigning Premier League champions, though.
He added: “We’ve got another tough game on Saturday and we need to make sure we keep them shutout first and foremost, but we’re at home and if we can play like we can do, I’m sure it’ll be a good day.
“It’s always easier when you’re creating chances rather than not and still losing the game. It’s about nailing down that final couple of per cent and keeping it shut. If we take our chances, we can upset some of the bigger teams.”