Aitor Karanka has revealed that it was an “easy” decision to award Dimi Konstantopoulos a one season contract extension .
The veteran Greek goalie's deal was due to lapse in the summer but his form in the Championship has convinced the Boro boss to tie the 36-year-old to the club for another year.
Asked about the deal, Karanka said: “It was easy because I have said before that Dimi is the kind of player I would like to have in my career because he is the kind of player who when I arrived here he was the third choice keeper and now he is the first.
“His behaviour is the same no matter what happens, he is always supporting the team, it doesn't matter if he is in the team or if he is injured or if he is fit and apart from that he is doing a very good job.”
It's been a remarkable couple of years for former Hartlepool keeper Konstantopoulos, who was signed by Tony Mowbay in 2013 primarily to take some of the training ground workload off the other keepers.
He broke into the first team almost one year ago and, apart from the first month of the current season when Tomas Mejias was selected in the starting XI, has been the first choice goalie.
Karanka admits Konstantopoulos could even stay beyond next season but at the moment he is just happy to have tied down such a reliable professional for a further 12 months beyond the end of the current campaign.
He said: “He is 36 and he knows me and I know him so if he is (playing) the same way next season we can speak about the future but the most important thing is he is here for one more season.”
Meanwhile, Karanka has confirmed that Jelle Vossen won't play at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday as a result of the concussion he suffered in the Leeds game last weekend but he could be passed fit to play on Tuesday against Millwall.
Dani Ayala has still not recovered from the thigh strain that has sidelined him and still requires another week of rest while Damia Abella could be back from his long-term knee injury in late March or early April.
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