Burton Albion will return for pre-season training on Monday - but there are unlikely to be any new faces reporting in on the first day.

The Brewers are yet to make their first signing of the summer as they prepare for a return to League One, with focus having been on the out-of-contract players offered new deals.

While Nigel Clough suggested it could be a quiet summer in the transfer window for his side, he has said that a couple of permanent signings could be on the cards closer to the start of the campaign, while they are also looking at possible loan deals.

So with Albion's curtain-raiser at home to Rochdale now less than six weeks away, we take a look at how early - or late - in the summer Burton have made their first signings of previous campaigns.

2017-18

Matty Lund (May 19, 2017)

Matty Lund bursts forward in the 1-0 win at Millwall

Matty Lund became Burton's first acquisition following their against-the-odds Championship survival in 2017.

Albion signed the central midfielder on a free from League One Rochdale, with the move being completed following the expiry of Lund's contract at Spotland in June.

The Northern Ireland international is a dynamic, box-to-box midfielder, and his signing seemed to mark him out as a possible successor to Jackson Irvine, who had already been linked with a move away from the Pirelli Stadium and joined Hull City in August.

Lund began the campaign brightly before sustaining an ankle problem in the 2-1 win over Birmingham City in August.

And while goals against Oldham Athletic in the Carabao Cup and Barnsley in the Championship highlighted his ability to make timely runs into the box, the 27-year-old's consistency was hampered by illness and injury thereafter.

He headed out on loan to Bradford City in January, having not featured for Albion in two months, and scored two goals in his last six appearances of the season.

Lund will return to the Brewers for pre-season and could yet prove a key asset in the third tier.

2016-17

Ben Turner (June 23, 2016)

Ben Turner of Burton Albion
Ben Turner of Burton Albion

Burton's first signing as a Championship club was a player who brought so much of what Clough knew his team would need in the unknowns of the second tier.

Ben Turner arrived with a wealth of Championship experience, as well as a tally of 33 Premier League appearances under his belt during Cardiff City's 2013-14 top-flight campaign.

The one doubt over the former Coventry City defender was his injury record, with ankle and knee problems having limited his involvement in the previous two seasons.

Turner has undermined any of those doubts in the subsequent 23 months.

The 29-year-old has made 69 league appearances over two seasons for Burton and has been a mainstay of the Albion defence, whether in a back three for much of 2016-17 or in a variety of defensive roles this season.

He has another year on his current Brewers contract and will be an important part of Clough's plans again.

2015-16

Callum Reilly (June 5, 2015)

Callum Reilly in action for Burton Albion in 2016-17

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's preparations for Burton Albion's first season in League One began with a permanent move for Callum Reilly.

The Birmingham City midfielder had already gained experience at the Pirelli Stadium after a loan switch to the Brewers in 2014-15 - although a hamstring injury allowed him only two outings during that spell.

But following his release by the Blues, Reilly joined Albion on a two-year deal.

Reilly's first full season with the Brewers saw him make 10 of his 14 league appearances off the bench, with the majority coming under Clough after he replaced the departing Hasselbaink in December.

He was used primarily as a central midfielder but also featured at full-back as Albion clinched automatic promotion to the Championship on the final day.

A goal in the EFL Cup first round at the start of 2016-17 was his biggest contribution of that campaign, before a January loan move to Coventry City.

He was released last summer and joined Bury.

2014-15

Shane Cansdell-Sherriff (May 28, 2014)

Shane Cansdell-Sherriff in action for Burton Albion in 2015-16

A firm fans' favourite at the Pirelli Stadium, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff was another player to sign permanently for Burton after an initial loan spell.

The Australian defender spent the 2013-14 season on loan at Albion from Preston North End, starting the League Two play-off final defeat to Fleetwood Town.

He signed a two-year deal with Gary Rowett's Burton less than a week after that loss, and would go on to play a crucial role in the back-to-back promotions that followed.

Cansdell-Sherriff made 41 appearances in 2014-15 as the Brewers clinched the League Two title under Hasselbaink, and then featured on 31 occasions the next season as Burton moved into the Championship.

He was one of four players, alongside Phil Edwards, Robbie Weir and Matt Palmer, to feature in the play-off final loss of 2014 and then the goalless draw at Doncaster Rovers two years later that secured an historic promotion for Albion.

But Cansdell-Sherriff and Weir were among the Burton players released following the end of the 2015-16 campaign.