St Mirren Announces Brown’s Departure and John’s Arrival

Declan John made 33 appearances for League Two club Salford City last season. St Mirren has confirmed the departure of Jaden Brown by mutual consent, citing his desire “to be closer to his family,” while simultaneously announcing the signing of former Rangers left-back Declan John as his replacement. Brown is currently awaiting sentencing at Paisley Sheriff Court, having pleaded guilty to three driving offences, which led to his exclusion from recent St Mirren matches. The 25-year-old defender, who previously played for Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday, rejoined the Buddies in June after a loan spell from Lincoln City last season. In a statement posted on X, external, St Mirren declared: “St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Jaden Brown has left the club by mutual consent.” The statement continued, “Jaden will now return to England to be closer to his family. The club will make no further comment.” Brown, an Englishman, marks the third player to depart St Mirren within a few weeks following a court appearance. Last week, Dutch striker Kevin van Veen’s loan agreement was terminated after he faced court on charges of domestic abuse. Additionally, last month, defender Shaun Rooney’s departure from St Mirren by mutual consent occurred after he was charged with assault stemming from an incident at a Glasgow takeaway. St Mirren promptly moved to fill Brown’s position by offering a contract until January to the 29-year-old John, who has earned seven caps for Wales. John previously played in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers, initially joining on loan from Cardiff City before making his move permanent in 2018. He accumulated 30 appearances during a one-year period before transferring to Swansea City and subsequently Bolton Wanderers. Following a loan period with Salford City, John was released in June. He informed St Mirren’s website that it had been “a crazy few days,” given he had only trained with the squad for the first time on Friday. Manager Stephen Robinson indicated that the Welshman’s contract might be extended “depending on how it goes.” Robinson acknowledged, “The circumstances we find ourselves in means we’re very short of defence cover.” He added, “Declan comes in with a vast amount of experience. He’s played at some very high levels and obviously been up in Scotland before as well, so we’re very lucky that we’ve been able to get him in.”