Chris Kirkland, the Wigan Athletic goalkeeper, has signed a new four-year contract which will keep him at the club until June 2012.

The England international initially joined Wigan on loan from Liverpool before making the move permanent in October 2006. He has gone on to establish himself as a key player, particularly in the club's battle to avoid relegation this season, keeping 20 clean sheets in 64 appearances.

Steve Bruce, the club’s manager, said: "I could not be more pleased to have Chris commit his future to Wigan.

"Everyone knows what a professional Chris is. I knew Chris was a good goalkeeper before I joined but until I had worked with him I didn't realize just how good he actually is. When I joined the club we were shipping on average over two goals a game, and no matter how good your strikers are, it is virtually impossible to score three goals in this league to win every game.

"So it is no coincidence that Chris' run of clean sheets and the good form of the team defensively meant that we picked up 31 points in about the last 30 games to secure our status with a game to go.

"People ask me about transfer targets and who is coming in, but someone of Kirky's calibre signing this new deal is a massive boost for the club and is an excellent foundation to continue building for next season."

The new deal secures the goalkeeper's services for Wigan’s fourth consecutive season in the Premier League.