Essendon veteran Brent Stanton will continue his career under an eighth Bombers coach after signing a new deal at the end of the AFL trade window.

The 29-year-old had been briefly linked to a move away from the Bombers but has re-signed to play under new boss John Worsfold in 2016.

Stanton’s deal has a trigger clause for a second year, which the player’s agent Adam Ramanauskas was seeking in negotiations.

The midfielder, who finished in the top 10 in the Bombers’ best-and-fairest count, said he knew a hard slog lay ahead in pre-season training.

“I’m confident we have the right players on our list to build a period of sustained success, we’re a better team than what we showed last season and we know to improve it’s going to take a lot of hard work over the summer,” he said.

Worsfold said Stanton, a member of the Dons’ leadership group, would need to lead by example in 2016.

“Brent’s effort and commitment is unquestionable, he has a fantastic endurance and he finished off 2015 in fantastic form … I’m confident with another big pre-season under his belt, he can play some exciting football this year.”