Hartlepool United defender Besart Topallaj recalled by parent club Bromley
Hartlepool United defender Besart Topallaj has been recalled by parent club Bromley, Pools have confirmed.
The versatile defender joined Pools in July following the departure of long-serving left-back David Ferguson, who made almost 250 appearances at Victoria Park but signed for Gateshead over the summer after failing to agree a new deal with the club.
Topallaj, who was part of the Bromley squad that won promotion from the National League in 2024, made a strong start to his Pools career, impressing at wing-back in Simon Grayson's 3-5-2 formation.
Indeed, Topallaj was a regular under Grayson and the Kosovan defender scored his first Pools goal during September's battling win over rivals Gateshead.
However, the 24-year-old lost his place in the Pools side under Nicky Featherstone, with the new boss preferring a flat back four with Cameron John at left-back.
Topallaj's last Pools appearance came from the bench during the defeat to Yeovil on December 6 but the former Millwall, Dagenham and Sutton man then dropped out of the matchday squad altogether.
Having missed several games through illness, Featherstone told BBC Radio Tees Sport in the week that the left-back was set to return to South London for "personal reasons".
"Bes has been ill quite a bit over the last two weeks," he said.
"There's a plan in place for Bromley to call him back, they've got a recall on the 2nd, and then I think he's going out on loan somewhere else.
"Personal reasons, his missus is pregnant and far away and he wants to be closer to home.
"He's one that I would have loved to keep around, but sometimes family and personal issues are bigger than football. For him, it was important for him to get back home."