ADAM Thompson admitted he could not stop smiling after finally committing his future to Southend United.

The 22-year-old centre-back has ended three months of transfer discussions by signing a 12 month deal to stay with the Shrimpers.

And Thompson, who is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury, is now desperate to repay Blues’ faith in his ability.

“I’m so happy to have signed and want to say a big thank you to everyone at the club for their faith in me,” said Thompson.

“I’m a realist and when I dislocated my shoulder with a month left of the season I feared I might get cut with us being a League Two club at that time.

“The team getting promotion probably helped me and I’ve not been able to stop smiling since getting it sorted.

“It’s taken a long time to get sorted and it was probably in the balance a couple of times if I’m honest.

“But I want to get fit as quickly as I can now and repay what the club and the chairman have done for me.”

Thompson has been sidelined with the shoulder injury since early April.

However, he expects to soon be back in action, challenging for a slot in the Shrimpers starting line-up.

“I hope to be back to full contact training in the next couple of weeks,” said Thompson.

“After that I’ll look to play in one or two of the under 21 matches to get my match fitness back and then I’ll be pushing to return.

“The performances from the lads have been really good this season and I’m itching to get back out there again.”

Thompson’s new deal includes the option of a further year.

And he is thrilled to be staying in a tight-knit Shrimpers group.

“I’ve been at four or five clubs in my career but I’ve never known anything like what we have here,” said Thompson.

“The people in the squad are now some of my best mates and I enjoy coming in to the club every single day.

“The team spirit is the best I’ve known and that’s another reason why I’m happy to be staying.”