Republic of Ireland international midfielder Stephen McPhail has finally put pen to paper to sign a new five-year deal at Leeds United which was agreed on in December. McPhail played above all expectations last season and, as a reward, the club offered to improve his contract to bring it in line with what a first-team player earns.

McPhail was more than happy with his new deal and said he would have signed on for longer if the club had wanted him to. He said: "It is terrific the club thinks so highly of me but I'd love to sign for even longer. The team did brilliantly last season and now we want to improve on that this term."

McPhail is in for a windfall straight away as the deal is being backdated to the date when it was verbally agreed, in December.

Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale said: "It is only right and proper that we should remain flexible. In Stephen McPhail's case the player signed a contract when he was not established in the first team and became undervalued under the terms of that contract.

"He was expected to be a fringe player last season but performed much better. When you have young lads coming through the danger is if they sign a long-term deal they feel they may be underpaid - but if you don't the club is running the risk of getting stuck in a Bosman-type situation.

"If all our players continue to progress we will continue to review their contracts."