He will still definitely do us a turn on occasions next year. Maybe not in terms of starting 8 games in a row, but in terms of a versatile player who knows what it is about and can still contribute. Great attitude, great team player, and a good experienced homegrown player to still have in the squad. Some folk are always desperate to sign the latest 23 yo European wonder kid for £££ (even though they have never heard of them or seen them play).
Guys like Alves, Zlatan, Giroud, Ronaldo, etc are not as good as 10 years ago, but they are still contributing in top leagues. Age is no longer a barometer of whether players are done.
If Gio and our coaches think he is worth keeping for this year, then that’s good enough for me. They will know better than any of us whether he can still contribute, which he was still doing last year at the end of a very long season. We do still obviously need some freshening up for next season, particularly midfield, wide and upfront, but clubs competing in Europe need really big squads these days.