Sam Long has become the latest Oxford United player to commit his future to the club after the defender signed a three-year deal.
Goalkeepers Jack Stevens and Simon Eastwood have both also recently penned new deals, while Long signed a two-year extension last summer.
If Long stays with the club until his contract expires in 2024, the Oxford-born defender would have surpassed 20 years at the club, having joined at the age of eight.
The 26-year-old, who made his debut against Accrington Stanley in 2013, has become a key figure under U’s boss Karl Robinson but has had to bide his time for regular football.
Injuries, loan moves away and missing out of the squad has been a regular occurrence since he made his senior debut, while the likes of George Baldock, Jonjoe Kenny and Chris Cadden, among others, have kept him out of the side.
Having made 38 appearances this season, he is determined to keep improving, telling the Oxford Mail: “I’ve been through a lot of lows in my career so far, but now I’m looking forward to hopefully having a few highs.
“It has been tough, I’ve had to prove myself to a lot of people to get to the point where I’m playing every week.
“I’m enjoying it and not taking it for granted. I know if I don’t perform there’ll be people wanting to get in my spot.
“I know I need to keep performing like I am and keep pushing on.”
Having turned out 122 times for the U’s in total, with 96 of those coming under Robinson, the Oxford boss was equally as happy to get the deal done.
He said: “We didn’t want to go into the last year (of his contract) being a little bit unsure. He’s done more than enough to deserve a contract at that length.
“Easty, Long and the other one (Josh Ruffels) I want to get done gives us stability in that back five.
“Over the last few years, we’ve found it difficult with Nels (Curtis Nelson) and (Rob) Dickie moving on.
“It takes its toll on the recruitment team, so stability in that backline is a real strong part of our make-up for next season.”
