Templeton leaves Brewers to return to Scotland

Scottish winger on the move for personal reasons, after becoming a father just before Christmas

In a surprise transfer deadline day move, David Templeton has left Burton Albion to move back to Scotland.

The 31-year-old Glasgow-born winger has re-signed for Hamilton Academical, where he had played before coming to Burton.

The move is largely for personal reasons, with Templeton's wife Robyn having given birth to a baby son just before Christmas. He was given time off then to be with them and though they have travelled down to be with him since, the player sees his future back in his home country.

He would have been out of contract in the summer, when he would have completed two years with Burton.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with David for the last 18 months,” said manager Nigel Clough.

“He is leaving us for family reasons - we’ve all come to an agreement and he leaves us with our very best wishes and thanks. We thank him for his efforts and he leaves us and the supporters with some very fond memories of great goals.

“With that goal against Doncaster earlier in the season, he may even have to come back and collect his Goal of the Season award!”

Templeton says he has enjoyed his spell with the Brewers, but that, having just become a father, the decision had to be made for his family.

“I’ve had a great time at the club and really enjoyed it with a great bunch of lads,” said Templeton. The manager has been great with me, and so have the fans.

“There’s no issues with the club but having my little boy back up the road has made things harder. I think it was right for me to come back up the road to be with them.”

The Brewers offered Templeton the chance to rebuild his career after he had been released by Hamilton.

Prior to that, at Rangers, he had spent 17 months sidelined by a mystery knee injury, eventually paying for an operation himself to cure the problem.

Injuries continued to be an issue for Templeton while at Burton, with shoulder and ankle problems and, at the end of his first season, a minor knee operation.

On form, Templeton was often great to watch on the pitch. He can ghost past players and, cutting inside from the wing, scored a number of spectacular goals for the club.

In all, he played 63 times for the Brewers, scoring 11 goals, with 26 of those appearances from the bench. The arrival of another Scottish winger, Jamie Murphy, made it look likely that Templeton would spend more time on the bench rather than start games but the move has still come as a surprise.

Burton have also released young goalkeeper Jack Livesey, who had not made a senior appearance.