Former Preston North End & Reading ace completes move to boyhood club - with ex-Celtic man on trial
Billy Bodin spent three years at Preston North End, registering 44 appearances in all competitions.
Former Preston North End winger Billy Bodin has completed a return to boyhood club Swindon Town.
The 33-year-old has sealed a switch to the Robins, 13 years after first departing the County Ground, where he rose through the ranks as a youngster.
The forward has penned a one-year deal with Ian Holloway’s men after being released by Burton Albion at the end of last term.
Bodin spent the second half of the campaign on loan with Reading, where he scored two goals in 16 League One outings.
The Welshman has completed an emotional return to the Wiltshire side, where he came through the academy before making his senior debut in 2010, aged 17.
He made 16 first-team appearances for the Robins before joining Torquay United in 2013.
And following his departure from Burton in May, the winger was keen to make a comeback to the club where he began his career.
Speaking to Swindon’s official website, he said: “It feels amazing to come back to where it all began. Swindon is a club that means a lot to me, and I’m really excited to get started and play in front of the fans again. I feel I have a lot to offer and I’m ready to give my all for the badge.
“I always knew when I left, I knew here was somewhere, where I would have loved to come back at a certain stage of my career, and after speaking to the manager, now seems the perfect fit and time.
“It's my home, all of my family is still local, and the memories I have here coming up as a young pro, this was a massive opportunity for me and my family to come back home.
“This club has a huge place in my heart, and that was a big factor in returning, but the manager was a big part of rejoining too. The way he wanted me to play, my role in the team, is something that excited me and my reason why I wanted to join.”
Swindon run rule over Scott Sinclair
Bodin isn’t the former PNE man to spend time with Swindon this summer, with ex-team-mate Scott Sinclair spending a period on trial with Holloway’s men.
The ex-Celtic ace linked-up with the Robins earlier in the month as he continues his search for a new club following his release from Bristol Rovers.
The 36-year-old was one of four triallists named against Reading last week but wasn’t named in the squad for Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Chippenham Town.
Sinclair spent two-and-a-half years in Lancashire, scoring 12 goals in 78 league appearances.
Billy Bodin’s three-year stay at PNE
After an impressive three-year stay at Bristol Rovers, which saw an impressive 35-goal return in 95 appearances for the Gas, saw Bodin make the move to Deepdale for an undisclosed fee in January 2018.
Despite scoring once in the second half of the 2017-18 campaign, the winger was sidelined for the entirety of the following season with a horrific knee injury.
He completed his long-awaited return in August 2019 and totalled four goals and five assists in 44 appearances in all competitions before his departure in July 2021.
Bodin has since won promotion from League One with Oxford United and also featured for Burton and Reading.