Sam Walker is set to put pen to paper on a new one-year contract with Colchester United today.

And the popular goalkeeper believes playing regularly for the U’s has helped him prosper - both on and off the field.

Walker, whose current deal expires next summer, is expected to agree new terms which will keep him at Colchester until the summer of 2016.

The 23-year-old has made nearly 100 league and cup appearances for the U’s since joining them from Chelsea in January 2013, initially on loan.

Colchester’s number one shot-stopper feels he has come on leaps and bounds since first arriving at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, nearly two years ago.

Walker said: “I feel like a completely different goalkeeper to when I first came to the club.

“Not only in terms of the technical side of the game but the experiences I’ve had have helped me develop, both as a goalkeeper and a person.

“It’s been a massive two years for me and long may it continue."

For more on this story and all of the latest Colchester United news, including a full preview of the U's game with Rochdale, see Friday's Daily Gazette.