[themaclad]

Swindon Town have signed defender Angus MacDonald on a two-year contract.

The 29-year-old was a free agent after being released by Rotherham at the end of last season.

"It feels great to be here. It's another huge chapter in my career and I can't wait to get started," he told the club website.

"I've got some good experience playing at a higher level, so I'm hoping to use this to drive the team forward and help lead the younger members of the squad."

[themaclad]

Swindon Town midfielder Ricky Aguiar has signed a contract extension to stay at the club for another three years.

The 21-year-old joined the Robins in August 2021 from National League South side Worthing.

He made 15 appearances in League Two last season and scored two goals.

"I love the way we set out to play football from the back and dominate other teams, and I really want to play a key role and contribute to this," Aguiar said.

"I have no doubt with the team we currently have, we are capable of challenging for promotion, and I want to score goals and create them for my team-mates."

[themaclad]

Swindon Town left-back Ellis Iandolo has signed a new two-year contract extension with the club.

The 24-year-old is the club's longest serving player, having joined in July 2015 from Maidstone United.

Iandolo has since made 113 appearances for the League Two club, scoring twice.

He has yet to play for Swindon this season after first suffering an ankle injury and then tearing a quadricep while in recovery, and is expected to remain out for a number of weeks.

"Swindon Town feels like home to me and it's a club that means a lot," Iandolo said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what the future brings, and hopefully I can help drive this team towards promotion this season."

[themaclad]

Swindon Town have signed defender Frazer Blake-Tracy on a season-long loan from Burton Albion.

The 26-year-old joined the League One side last summer and has since made 11 appearances for the club.

He previously played for King's Lynn, before signing for Peterborough United in 2019.

"This was a really easy decision for me to come here and I can't wait to get going," Blake-Tracy said.

"Scott Lindsey is building a really exciting team that has a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to being a part of that and playing regularly.

"I've played against Swindon before and heard really good things about the club, so to be given the chance to come here and play is massive for me."

[themaclad]

Swindon have signed former Tottenham right-back Marcel Lavinier, forwards Luke Jephcott and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, winger Morgan Roberts and goalkeeper Conor Brann.

Lavinier signs on a free transfer after his contract with Tottenham ended.

The 21-year-old joined Spurs in 2020 after 13 years in Chelsea's academy.

He played 43 times for their development squad and made his only first-team appearance in February 2021 as a substitute in the Europa League.

"I had a really good chat with the manager upon joining the club and this is a really exciting project to be a part of," Lavinier told the club website.

"I knew as soon as I'd spoken to Scott [Lindsay] and his team, this was where I wanted to play my football and it's the ideal place for me to showcase what I can do."

Jephcott signs from Plymouth Argyle on an initial loan, with the option to make it a permanent deal.

The 22-year-old forward has played 103 times for Plymouth, scoring 33 times since joining them in 2018.

"I've seen how Swindon play as well as the goals they score and the chances they create, and I think there is an opportunity for me to do really well here," he said.

Hepburn-Murphy, 23, has been without a club since leaving Cypriot side Pafos at the end of last season.

The striker began his career in Aston Villa's academy and made his first-team debut in 2015 aged 16.

During his five years with Villa he had loan spells with Cambridge United, Tranmere Rovers and Derby County, before moving to the Cyprus First Division in the summer of 2020.

"I really like the way they this team plays football. It really suits me and hopefully I can fit in and get regular games under my belt," Hepburn-Murphy said.

Roberts, 21, joins on a permanent deal from National League North side Banbury where he has scored 10 goals in 27 appearances.

Brann, 19, was a free agent after being released by Galway United in the League of Ireland First Division, having initially joined their academy squad.

[themaclad]

Jacob Wakeling
Jacob Wakeling has scored four goals in his last eight games for Swindon Town
Swindon Town striker Jacob Wakeling has signed a new contract to commit himself to the club until the summer of 2026.

The 21-year-old only moved to the County Ground in July after being released by Premier League side Leicester City.

He has already scored four goals in 10 League Two appearances this season.

"Jacob is a real example of what I want in a player here at this football club," head coach Scott Lindsey told the club website.

"He has so many qualities, from his energy and determination to chase the ball down and scoring goals, right through to his versatility and ability to track back and tackle.

"He's been outstanding for us and it was only right we rewarded him with a new long-term contract here at the football club."

[themaclad]

Swindon Town have re-signed striker Charlie Austin on a free transfer.

The 33-year-old ex-Burnley, Queens Park Rangers, Southampton & West Bromwich Albion goal poacher has returned to the County Ground almost 12 years after leaving the Robins for Turf Moor.

Since leaving QPR for a second time at the end of the 2021-22 season, Austin has been playing down under with Robbie Fowler's former club Brisbane Roar.

But he agreed a mutual termination of his contract earlier this month.

That leaves him free to make the move from the Australian A League back to Wiltshire, subject both to English Football League approval and international clearance - and for now he has agreed a deal to the end of the season.

'I'm a different person to 12 years ago'
Austin told BBC Wiltshire: "It's a new chapter for me. I'm a different person to the one they signed all those years ago.

"When I first came through the doors, I was like a rabbit in the headlights but I'm now a lot more experienced. I've been fortunate enough to have travelled, to have seen the world, seen the game and come up against some of the word's best players."

Listen to BBC Radio Wiltshire's Talk of the Town podcast
Scott Lindsey's Swindon are currently fifth in League Two, five points shy of an automatic promotion place - and Austin will be returning to English football at a level two tiers below the one he left, despite reportedly receiving better offers higher up the league pyramid.

"I did have other offers elsewhere," he said. "But this is the one where I wanted to be. And, when I spoke to the chairman, I quickly realised we were singing off the same page.

"He told me the direction which the club want to go in, to get back to, and I want to be a part of it.

"I still live locally, even though I have just come back from the other side of the world. And I'm just delighted to be back. Not many people get the chance to come back to where they started."

Charlie Austin helped take Swindon to the League One play-off final in 2010, when they were beaten by Millwall at Wembley
Charlie Austin helped take Swindon to the League One play-off final in 2010, when they were beaten by Millwall at Wembley
Austin's goal stats
Austin has scored 157 league goals in English football with his five clubs.

He started off with 32 in 56 appearances for Swindon, to earn him the first of his four seven-figure moves, becoming Eddie Howe's first signing for Burnley, for £1m in January 2011.

Austin, who had also been a target for Howe at Bournemouth, scored 41 times in 82 games in two seasons with Burnley before moving on to QPR when he was signed by Harry Redknapp for £4m in 2013.

Austin scored 48 goals in 89 appearances in three seaons for the R's, helping the club reach the Premier League via the play-offs in 2014, as well as netting 18 goals in the top flight the following season when they were relegated back to the Championship.

He was then signed by Ronald Koeman in 2016 for Southampton, scoring 20 times in three seasons in all competitions, when he was used mainly from the bench.

The same happened when he was signed by Slaven Bilic at West Brom and Mark Warburton when he returned to QPR. But the goals continued to flow, a combined 23 more at Championship level, before weighing in with two from seven starts in Australia.

[themaclad]

Jake Cain
Jake Cain scored for Liverpool in their 3-2 defeat by Tranmere in the EFL Trophy
Swindon Town have signed Liverpool midfielder Jake Cain on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

The 21-year-old is Swindon's second January signing after Charlie Austin returned to the County Ground.

Wigan-born Cain signed professional forms for Liverpool in 2019 and made his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup in February 2020.

"This is a team with a lot of talented young players," said Cain. "I've come here for regular first-team football."

Cain was named on the bench 13 times by Jurgen Klopp for the Reds' first team and scored his first goal for the club against Tranmere in the EFL Trophy.

He has also played in League Two for Newport County on loan.

"He's a really talented footballer who is well suited to our style, possesses great vision and has an eye for a pass," said Swindon Technical Director Sandro Di Michele.

[themaclad]

Swindon Town have made defender Frazer Blake-Tracy's loan from Burton Albion permanent while they have also signed Joe Tomlinson from Peterborough and Dylan Kadji on loan from Bristol City.

Blake-Tracy, 27, joined the Robins on a six-month deal in August and has played 24 times this season.

Tomlinson, 22, made 10 appearances for Swindon during a loan spell at the tail end of the 2021-22 season.

Kadji, 19, joins having made two senior Bristol City appearances.

"I'm absolutely delighted to sign a permanent deal here," Blake-Tracy told the club's website.

Tomlinson added: "It's brilliant to be back. I had a troubled time last season due to injury which was really frustrating, but I'm ready to go again, I feel good and can't wait to get going."

"Everyone has been really welcoming since I've come in today and this seems a great environment to develop," Kadji said.

[themaclad]

Swindon have signed ex-Chelsea academy midfielder George McEachran on a free transfer until the end of the season.

The 22-year-old has been a free agent since being released by the Premier League club last summer.

McEachran joined Chelsea in 2009 and worked alongside new Swindon head coach Jody Morris there, although he did not make a first-team appearance.

He was part of the England team that won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 and played in the final win over Spain.

"Talking from a previous experience that I've had with him - albeit a few years ago - he's played at a really good level, he's represented his country at different age groups and won World Cups with his country in a group that is remembered," Morris told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

"He's good around the place, has great energy and just someone that I think will bring a bit of quality."