Cambridge United can today announce that midfielder George Maris has put pen to paper on a new two year contract with the Football Club.
The 23-year old has committed his future to the U's and becomes the seventh addition to Colin Calderwood's squad ahead of the 2019/20 season, increasing the quality and competition in the middle of the pitch for United.
Maris' previous contract with Cambridge United expired at the end of last month and the midfielder's intention was to only consider offers away from the Abbey Stadium over the summer that would allow him to test his ability higher up the Football League pyramid.
Maris has also turned down multiple offers to join other League Two clubs throughout the summer, clearly expressing his desire to remain at the Abbey if the opportunity to challenge himself higher did not materialise. He has fully committed to pre-season training as part of Colin Calderwood's first team group for the past three weeks.
Pleased to have now secured his future at the Abbey, Maris commented: “I’m delighted to have got the new contract done and over the line. It has been a long summer and now I’m really looking forward to just getting my head down here for the next two years.
“The gaffer invited me to join the team in Scotland to get a feel back for the place and that was brilliant. There’s a different feel about the group this year, it feels like a better environment with the addition of the new players so far.
“I’m confident we can all have a better year than last season. I’ve not played a game since Mansfield last year, so my aims right away are to get back to full fitness and match sharpness as soon as I can and start the season brightly.”
Maris initially joined the U's as a free agent back in June 2016 as an exciting prospect following his development through Barnsley's youth system and has since gone on to become a key component for United's midfield, making 112 appearances and scoring 21 goals.
Head Coach Colin Calderwood is delighted Maris has decided to commit to the Club, he said: "George's situation was quite unusual and we wanted to keep him last year, but as was entirely within his rights he wanted to see what else was out there.
"There were offers there but he has decided to come back to us on less money than he was being offered elsewhere, which is a good indication of how much he likes being here and how settled he feels in the area.
"He is a valuable player for us and we want to get him back to stage where his input in games was what led to a Championship club seeking his services not so long ago.
"He's a new signing as such but with the added bonus of having had a very easy settling in period."
Head of Football Ben Strang concluded: "We kept discussions open with George throughout the summer and always said that we would welcome him back, given the opportunity. George has aspirations to test himself and play at a higher level and we share the belief that he is capable of doing so. We have no issue with our players wanting to play at the best level they can; that can only be a healthy thing.”
“We know what George is capable of and with this in mind, are delighted to secure his services on a two year contract.”
Andrew Dallas and George Maris have both signed up for the Next Chapter – you can too by clicking here and buying your 2019/20 season ticket!