Charlie Austin & Jonny Williams: Striker to stay with Swindon as midfielder among eight leaving

Charlie Austin scored nine goals for Swindon this season after returning to the club in December

Striker Charlie Austin has signed a one-year contract extension to stay with Swindon Town next season.

The 33-year-old rejoined the Robins in December almost 12 years after he last played for them.

He went on to score nine times in 20 appearances for the League Two club.

Former Wales international Jonny Williams is among seven players being released by Swindon this summer, while defender Mathieu Baudry is retiring after a 17-year career.

Midfielder Williams, 29, who retired from international duty in March, was Swindon's top scorer this season with 10 goals and signed for the team in August 2021.

Cian Harries, Mo Dabre, Harry Parsons, George Cowmeadow, Oscar Massey and Morgan Roberts are also leaving the club.

Swindon have triggered contract extensions for midfielder George McEachran and forward Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, while defender Tom Brewitt has also been offered a new deal.

'No brainer' for Austin to stay

Austin played for Swindon between 2009 and 2011, scoring 32 in 56 games for Swindon during his first spell with the club.

He went on to sign a £1m deal with Burnley and also played for QPR, Southampton and West Brom before playing in Australia for Brisbane Roar until December last year.

"It was a no-brainer, but as things move on in football, my decision became clearer when the direction of the football club changed," Austin said.

"They brought the new manager in, Michael Flynn, who is someone I'm really looking forward to working with and when they offered me the chance to stay another year, it was one I had to take."

Austin scored on his return to the County Ground in January and in March he scored all four goals for Swindon against Rochdale, although they were held to a 4-4 draw.