Torquay United AFC is delighted to announce the signing of former Taunton Town defender Austen Booth.
After leaving The Gulls’ National League South rivals earlier this week, former Torquay youth team prospect Booth has now returned to Plainmoor on a permanent basis as a senior professional, with United winning the race for his signature ahead of tomorrow’s home fixture against St Albans.
Following the closure of Torquay’s previous youth department, Austen initially joined Cornish side Truro City in 2017, before loan spells at Barnstaple and Buckland Athletic prompted a move back to Devon with stints at Tiverton Town and Plymouth Parkway.
Last summer saw him move on to Somerset with Taunton, and having been in impressive form for the Peacocks during the first six months of this season, his subsequent departure from Town sparked interest from a whole host of other clubs.
Booth, though, opted to join his hometown club and follow in the footsteps of his father, former Gulls Player of the Year, Jon Gittens, with United boss Gary Johnson understandably delighted to have secured the services of the highly-rated centre-back.
“He’s born and bred in Torquay,” said Johnson.
“It’ll be nice to hear the song ‘He’s one of our own’, that’s always good. He’s got an affinity for the Club, when he’s not playing for his other clubs, he tends to come here to watch the games. We know him very well of course, with the South Devon College link. When me and Downesy first came, he was a young lad that trained with us every now and again, but he’s gained that experience now.
“He’s 25, he’s had a very, very good season. He’s played in every Taunton game right from when they were going well at the start of the season, and we think he’s ready now. We looked at a lot of centre-halves, and at 25, we wanted somebody that had a bit of experience of this league, he knows how we play because he’s watched it, so we’re very happy to bring somebody in that’s a quick transition. He understands what we’ll do, what our personalities are, etc, etc, and he’s a good player.
“There was a lot of interest in him, so we had to act, because we think he’s a good player and will be an asset to the Club.”
Austen Booth has been allocated squad number 5.
It’s great to have you back at Plainmoor, Austen!