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STOKES SIGNS UNITED EXTENSION
Stokes, who has represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-19s level, put pen to paper at Thorp Arch on Wednesday afternoon after being offered an extended stay earlier this summer.
The 20-year-old, a 2012 arrival on scholarship terms from Dublin side St Kevin’s Boys Club, was the joint top scorer for our Under-21s last season after netting eight times from 23 appearances.
Stokes, who can play in a number of attacking roles, has been training with the United first team under new boss Garry Monk since returning to Thorp Arch for pre-season earlier this week.
“I’m happy to have extended my contract and hopefully I can kick forward now and push towards the first team,†he told leedsunited.com. “I want to push on this season and see where it goes from there.
“It’s been good to come straight back into training with the first team and hopefully I’ll stay there for the whole season and make an impression.
“I felt like I had a good season last year, I scored a lot of goals and I thought I played really well.
“I enjoyed last season, it was probably the best season I’ve had at the club and I’ve been rewarded now with a new deal.
“I’m going into my fifth year at the club now. I’m enjoying it here and I’ll just keep going and try to push on.â€
Stokes arrived at the club as a striker four years ago but recent seasons have seen him utilised in slightly deeper roles.
“During my scholar years I was mainly playing up front,†he explained. “But since my first year as a professional I’ve dropped more into the number 10 role.
“I’ve mainly been playing off the centre-forward or even playing on the left or the right in a three behind the centre-forward.
“When we were playing with a diamond, I was playing anywhere in midfield. It’s good for me that I can play in many positions – I’m very versatile, so I can play in midfield and up front. That’s a bonus for me.â€
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