Former Hartlepool United defender signs for fellow National League side following Pools exit
Former Hartlepool United defender Besart Topallaj has signed for fellow National League side Sutton.
The 24-year-old spent six months on loan at Gander Green Lane last term, scoring once in 25 matches.
The Kosovan defender had his contract mutually terminated by League Two Bromley, whom he helped win promotion from the National League in 2024, earlier this month after returning from a stint at Pools.
The versatile left-sided defender signed for Pools in July, joining on a loan deal until January with an option to make the move permanent.
Having moved away from South London for the first time in his career, the former Millwall and Dagenham and Redbridge man made an assured start to his Pools career, impressing at left-wing-back under Simon Grayson and scoring his first goal during September's win over rivals Gateshead.
However, the defender lost his place after new boss Nicky Featherstone replaced Grayson in the dugout before being sidelined through illness.
With his partner pregnant and still down in South London, Bromley recalled Topallaj at the beginning of January before cancelling his contract in order to facilitate a permanent return to Sutton, where he will be a teammate of former Pools centre-half Edon Pruti.
The young defender links up with a Sutton side who are 21st in the National League table and stuck inside the relegation zone on goal difference.
The Us endured a torrid start to the campaign under Steve Morison but enjoyed a remarkable resurgence following the appointment of former Worthing boss Chris Agutter, who oversaw a run of seven matches unbeaten - including six wins.
However, the South London outfit have slipped back into trouble once again and are now without a win in five games ahead of a testing run of fixtures that will see them take on promotion-contenders York and Forest Green Rovers in the next fortnight.
Topallaj, who made 21 National League appearances for Pools, is set to return to Victoria Park with Sutton on Saturday, February 14.
"It's nice to be back home," Topallaj told Sutton's official club website.
"It was a last minute thing, I got the call that I could come in and it was a no-brainer for me.
"Last season was good, I felt like we could have made the play-offs but we had a few bad results and we missed out; overall, I really enjoyed it here.
"It was very different being up in Hartlepool. I've always lived in London, so to move to the other side of England was very different.
"I think I probably needed it, just to try something different, to go and live a different life and live by myself. I needed it, it was good."