Swindon Town confirm that club legend Charlie Austin has returned to the club

Swindon Town have confirmed that former striker Charlie Austin has rejoined the club almost 12 years since he originally left. Total Sport’s Joe Acklam reports on the return of the king.

Austin, 33, has come back to the County Ground, where his career in professional football began in 2009 and the club with which he scored 31 goals in 54 matches.

The former-QPR forward reached the League One Play-Off Final with Town in 2010, losing to Millwall, before leaving for Burnley in January of the following season.

Austin said: “[on avenging the miss at Wembley being motivation for his return] No, that is part of my footballing journey and something that has happened during my career.

“It is a moment that sticks in my mind, but that wasn’t the reason why I have come back to play for the football club.

“Do I wish it didn’t happen and we scored and got promoted? Of course I do, but that is just part of my journey and now it is all about 2023.

“The opportunities were there [to play higher], but when I spoke to the chairman we kind of sung off the same hymn sheet and it was an easy decision to make.

“I have just moved across the world and I needed to be as local as I could be, and when I spoke to the chairman and given the association I have with the football club it was a no-brainer.

“Clem [Morfuni] was the person that I did the deal with and if it wasn’t for him I don’t think the deal would have gone through, because he took total control of it.

“I didn’t need to speak to the manager until after the deal was done, but from what we spoken about so far it has been fine.”

Austin arrives off the heels of a morale boosting 2-1 win against third place Northampton Town, and he is not ruling out chasing down the automatic promotion places.

He said: “I was at Walsall and everyone could see that the first half wasn’t great, but you can see the chances that the team creates and as a centre forward it is a nice problem to have.

“I was watching it thinking about how I could help the team going forward, so I was just looking forward to getting started.

“I am adaptable and have been fortunate enough to play with some of the best players in the world and to do that you have to be adaptable, so I will fit in to how the manager wants us to play.

“I am going off what the manager and the club want to do and that is promotion and they have given themselves a great start being right in the mix.

“What will happen in the next six months will be an exciting time if we can replicate what happened in the first half of the season.

“It would be nice [for me to score at Wembley], but I don’t want to go up through the play-offs, I think the top three is the aim more than the play-offs.

“The play-offs are great if you win, and if you don’t then they are no good and I have been on both ends of that.

“So, I will take getting top three any day.”

Swindon Technical Director, Sandro Di Michele, said: “I’m really happy to bring Charlie to the club.

“He’s a player that brings with him a huge amount of experience and time spent plying his trade at the highest level, and when the opportunity arises to sign a player of his calibre, you have to take it.

“We’re really excited to see what he can deliver on the pitch, but also how he’ll help develop and educate the younger lads in our squad.”

First-Team Head Coach, Scott Lindsey, added: “I’m delighted to have Charlie onboard and this is a really top signing for the football club.

“His career speaks for itself and he’s a natural goal scorer with a lot still to offer.

“His experience both on and off the pitch will be invaluable and play a key part in driving us forward for the remainder of the season.”