Manchester City captain Richard Dunne has pledged his future to the club following the signing of a new four-year deal.

The 28-year-old, who has been City's player of the year for four successive seasons, was thought to be considering his future at Eastlands with just one year to run on his current contract.

Dunne was believed to have been on the wish list of a number of Premier League clubs, with Portsmouth, Newcastle and Tottenham all keen to secure the defender's services, but new Blues manager Mark Hughes as now convinced him to stay at the City of Manchester Stadium until 2012.

Dunne, who joined City from Everton in 2000, admitted Hughes played a huge role in his decision to stay at the club.

"I'm delighted to be able to stay," Dunne said.

"My first priority is, was and always has been to stay at City because I've enjoyed it so much and I feel really settled here.

"When Mark Hughes got the job I think everyone was really pleased and I was thrilled that he seemed to make it a priority to sort my contract out.

"As soon as he did (take over) we started to talk," he added. "It was literally a couple of days and it was all done and dusted.

"I'm pleased now that it's all been signed and sealed, and I can relax a bit more now and concentrate on the season ahead."