Magnus Okuonghae has performed a u-turn and committed his future to Colchester United.

Okuonghae has signed a three-year deal with the U's, having initially indicated that he was looking to leave the club to join a Championship side.

Okuonghae's decision to stay with Colchester is a major boost for manager John Ward, as he plans for next season.

Ward said: “I think it’s a very positive thing, it’s as good as a new signing for us but we both know each other very well.

“Magnus is retaining that ambition to go higher and do well in the future and that has positive implications for us.

“He will do his best to be at his best as often as he can.

“We saw that from his last year and he still has that opportunity to improve things for himself individually and on behalf of the team collectively, Colchester United can only benefit from his ambition.”

Okuonghae will not feature in this afternoon's friendly at Heybridge Swifts but will travel to Holland with the rest of the Colchester squad tomorrow.

See Monday's Gazette for more on this story and all of the latest Colchester United news.