THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BILBAO, Spain — Athletic Bilbao has signed winger Markel Susaeta to a four-year contract extension that ties him to the Basque club through 2017.
The 24-year-old Susaeta came up through the club’s famed Lenzema youth ranks to become a key player in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad, scoring 12 goals in a club-high 63 appearances last season.
Bilbao says Susaeta’s buy-out clause remains at C35 million ($45 million).
The Spanish league team recently earned C40 million ($50 million) when Bayern Munich bought out Javi Martinez’s contract, while fellow Spain international Fernando Llorente remained with the club after it refused to sell the striker for less than his C36 million ($46 million) buy-out clause.
Bilbao has had an irregular start to the season as a result, with a single win from three league matches.