BORO CLINCH WOODGATE SIGNING
England defender Jonathan Woodgate committed his future to Middlesbrough after finding happiness back at home.
The 27-year-old has completed a £7million permanent transfer from Real Madrid after signing a four-year-deal with the club he supported as a boy.
Woodgate, who joined Real in a £13.4million move from Newcastle in August 2004 but played only a handful of games for the Spanish aristocrats because of injury, has made a huge impact during a season-long loan on Teesside and knew instinctively the Riverside Stadium was where he wanted to be.
He said: "I was really enjoying myself and really enjoying the football with playing and the way I was playing.
"Obviously, the manager has a lot to do with that. I just thought to myself, 'I am really happy, let's get it done, let's get it signed'.
"Something you cannot always get in life is happiness, and that is what I have got.
"With this club now and the manager and the chairman, we can strive for bigger and better things."
Woodgate revealed he actually made his decision three months ago and knocked on manager Gareth Southgate's door to tell him.
The club kept the agreement quiet - to the extent they denied Real's claims in February that Woodgate had made his move - but revealed the details at a press conference.
Woodgate said: "I made my mind up about three months ago, to be honest, but we could not really say anything.
"I went into the manager's office and told him I wanted to sign. I think he was caught unexpectedly when I told him I wanted to sign.
"I am extremely happy. It has been an ambition of mine to play for the club and I am doing that now - I am going to do that for the next four years.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here working with the manager and all the other players. I am just really happy."
Woodgate has started 33 of the 41 games Boro have played since his arrival last August to put his injury problems firmly behind him.
That has helped to revive his England career - he made his return to the international stage in a friendly against Spain at Old Trafford earlier this year.
However, his is adamant his decision to leave Real does not reflect a lack of ambition, but rather his belief he can achieve his dreams closer to home.
Woodgate said: "It was a shame that it obviously did not happen for me over there. I was injured a lot, so I could not do an awful lot about that.
"But I have moved on from there now and I want to try to build things at Middlesbrough.
"While I have been a supporter of Middlesbrough, they have always brought big players in and always tried to do something.
"Now we have the right manager in charge, hopefully he can start bringing success to Middlesbrough."
Southgate, who played alongside Woodgate when he made his England debut as a teenager, was thrilled to have won the battle for his signature amid speculation that one of the big guns would lure him away from Teesside.
He said: "But you are always conscious that the way he has played, there will be any number of top clubs around Europe who will be wanting to take him.
"I said all along, we had to try to prove to him what our ambitions were, that it was an environment in which he could feel comfortable, that he could work in.
"But as I said to him when he came to see me and said he would like to stay, I see it as very much the starting point.
"We want to build the club up from this point. It is not a case of him coming here just because it is easy for him and it is comfortable for him.
"He is driven, he is the sort of lad who comes in and watches every game that he plays back to see the mistakes he has made and try to correct them.
"He is still driven to achieve things and he wants to do it with his home-town club."
Meanwhile, Boro remain in talks with 31-year-old Australian striker Mark Viduka as he approached the end of his current deal.
Southgate said: "We are in talks with Mark and we have made it clear we would like him to stay.
"We have spoken about building your team from the back, but you need top strikers in your side as well, and Mark has been outstanding for us this season.
"Again, we hope what we are trying to do and what he is seeing us try to do - and securing Jonathan's signature will hopefully be a good signal to him of what we are trying to do - will encourage him to stay."
The announcement of Woodgate's capture came on the same day as Boro revealed season ticket prices for the new campaign will be frozen for the third successive year.
PA Sport
