I am happy at Port Vale – is defender Nathan Smith giving a contract hint?

Port Vale defender Nathan Smith has been giving his views on contract negotiations with the club and told the media “I am happy at Port Vale”.

The central defender has been a key player for the club since breaking through from the youth ranks but is out of contract in the summer.

The club have entered negotiations with the youngster but it looks likely that Smith will stall on signing a deal until the summer as he explores possible interest from bigger clubs and also potentially negotiates the best possible financial package from the Valiants.

I can’t deny how happy I am here. It is a local club, I don’t have to travel far, friends and family are around here and this is all I have ever known. So, I can’t deny I am happy here at Port Vale and looking forward to playing football…

However, Smith has roots locally and these could potentially persuade him to stay with the club especially as things are looking bright under owners Carol and Kevin Shanahan and manager John Askey.

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Smith told the media: “I can’t deny how happy I am here. It is a local club, I don’t have to travel far, friends and family are around here and this is all I have ever known. So, I can’t deny I am happy here at Port Vale and looking forward to playing football.”

Smith added that negotiations will continue saying: “First and foremost is Saturday, to get the three points to get into the play-offs. Then you can keep taking it from there. Me and the gaffer can keep having conversations. I think we understand each other well, we don’t hide anything from each other. We are very honest and I think we know what’s going on, going forward.”