Vito Mannone has decided to put pen on paper for a new deal with his current club Sunderland. The Italian shot stopper has signed a two-year extension which means that he would remain a Black Cat till the 2016-17 Season.

This has now put a full stop on all the speculations which had been drawn after Sunderland’s signing of Pantilimon, the Romania goalie.

Pantilimon’s arrival definitely means that Mannone is no longer going to be a certainty in the starting line up of Sunderland. He would be given tough competition for the no. 1 keeper’s slot.

It had been rumoured that Mannone was not happy to be put in such a situation by the Sunderland management and thus, he wanted to leave.

Mannone, yesterday, while talking to the reporters after signing the fresh deal, expressed surprise at such speculations.

The 26-year old goalie said, “I have no idea who spread such speculations, but, they were completely baseless. I never thought about leaving Sunderland and that’s because I had no reason to do so. I had a fabulous time here the previous season. With all the support that I got, I was overwhelmed.”

When asked about Pantilimon being signed, Mannone said, “Well, that’s not an issue for me. You have a look at the squads of the other clubs. They all have backups in every department. Secondly, I had already been made aware by the boss that a new shot stopper would be arriving as a couple of reserved ones were making their way out, but, the boss had also assured me that I would be the first choice. So, I was alright with it.”

Mannone made his debut for Sunderland last summer only and in his very first year, he got to play 29 out of the 38 league games.