York City have agreed a contract extension with popular winger Maziar Kouhyar which keeps him with the National League club until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
He follows in the footsteps of fellow teammates Dan Pybus, Mitch Hancox and Adam Crookes, who have also confirmed their stay with the Minstermen in the last couple of weeks.
Kouhyar's new two-and-a-half year deal comes after a long period of absence from the matchday squad due to an abductor injury.
Coincidentally, the last time the City star made an appearance was in ex-manager John Askey's last game at the helm of the club, before his unsought sacking in mid-November.
New boss David Webb, who took over at the beginning of December, has not yet had chance to see the best of Kouhyar, if any, albeit has awarded him a lengthy contract extension.
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Promotion winner!
Looking back at Kouhyar's time at the club so far, he joined on a free transfer from what were one of York's National League North rivals - Hereford - heading into the final two months of the season.
At the time of linking up with the Minstermen, Askey's side were struggling to solidify a playoff place, which they had been miles off of earlier in the campaign.
He played in ten regular National North games, helping his team to go on a five game unbeaten run to end the season on, and secure a successful fifth place finish, meaning 2021/22 wasn't over yet.
Kouhyar also managed to net his first goal in red and blue in a 1-0 win at home to Spennymoor.
The Yorkshire side advanced past Chorley and Brackley in the playoff eliminators to reach the final, which they would host against Boston United.
On a huge day for everyone involved with the football club, Lenell John-Lewis scored five minutes into the game, then Afghanistan international Kouhyar sealed promotion back to the National League, with a finish past the 'keeper on 86'.
As well as claiming the final goal of the previous campaign, he also opened the current one for the Minstermen, in a 2-0 win over Woking on opening day.
15 matches in, and Kouhyar was already the leading assister in the division (7), with the majority of them coming from his efficient partnership with John-Lewis.
His injury hasn't helped in City's bid to climb the table again, and his presence is evidently a big miss, however a return seems to be imminent, and could even make the bench for Saturday's game against Maidenhead.
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Kouhyar "happy to extend"
Upon extending his contract for an extra two-and-a-half years, Kouhyar spoke to club media: “I’m happy to get it over the line.
“It’s a club where I’ve really enjoyed my time and hopefully we can create more good memories like our promotion last year.
“Everything about the club, the stadium, the fans, the lads, the training. I just really like it here and I’m happy to extend for another two years.
“It’s a good place to develop. The league is a strong league with a lot of good teams and it’s good to put myself up against these kinds of players and teams.
“I feel like the more I play, the more I’ll improve, so that’s my goal for the next couple of years.”