Carson 'delighted' at securing South Shields return after Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Livingston spells

David Carson has expressed his delight at completing a return to South Shields seven years after leaving the club.

The midfielder left the Mariners in 2017 and went on to spend time with Whitby Town and Morpeth Town before securing a move to Scottish Championship club Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Carson enjoyed a productive five-year spell with Caley and was part of the side that reached the Championship play-off final in 2022 before a defeat against St Johnstone ended any thoughts of promotion into the Premiership.

The 29-year-old would make the step into Scottish football’s elite earlier this year when he joined Livingston on an 18-month deal - but he has now returned to South Shields after putting pen-to-paper on three-and-a-half year deal at the 1st Cloud Arena. Carson has revealed is hoping to make the most of the ‘learning curve’ he experienced north of the border as he prepares to resume his career with the Mariners.

He told the club website: “I am delighted to get it done and we are obviously waiting for the clearance and things to come through - but apart from that I’m delighted to get here, to see the club again and I’m looking forward to being back on the grass. I loved my time up in Scotland, played in some very big games and enjoyed my time. I played against the big dogs, Celtic and Rangers, it’s been a good learning curve, and I am hopefully going to bring that back and progress my career here.

“I’ve had some really good conversations with the gaffer, he’s put his stamp across on how the team wants to play and how he wants to do that. They’ve been really positive on football terms, they’ve been really good to deal with and trying to get the deal over the line. Geoff (Thompson) has been a big help with that and I’ve worked with Elliott before at Sunderland, he knows my game, I know the way he works so I’m looking forward to getting out there and getting myself ready for when the clearance comes through.”

Carson could make his debut in Tuesday night’s home game with Rushall Olympic if international clearance is received.