Defender Tom Flanagan has left Burton Albion, the club's official website has confirmed.

Tom Flanagan has decided to leave Burton Albion rather than sign the contract extension which was offered to him.

The news comes as a surprise to many Burton Albion fans and has "frustrated" manager Nigel Clough because Flanagan leaves in controversial circumstances.

The full-back, who can also play as a centre-back, had apparently verbally agreed a new contract with Burton Albion and they were confident that he would sign an extension.

Flanagan had told Nigel Clough and the club via a text message last week that he had offers on the table from other clubs but he was not interested in those as his future was at Burton Albion.

However, he has now performed a u-turn and broken his promise.

This has annoyed Nigel Clough, who had begun planning for next season with Tom Flanagan firmly in his plans.

The once-capped Northern Ireland international was one of the best performers for the Brewers last season as they defied all odds and stayed afloat in the Sky Bet Championship.

Flanagan played 32 games in all competitions for Burton last season, including 30 in the Championship.

Of those, the 25-year-old started 22 which shows how much of a central player he was in Burton's plans.

Burton will now have to look at alternative targets to replace Tom Flanagan.

Burton fans - is this news a big blow? Let us know below...