Burton Albion have had another busy summer on the transfer front - but Nigel Clough has been surprised by how tough it has been to get deals done.

The Brewers boss confirmed on Thursday that their pursuit of Fulham forward Cauley Woodrow would be ending in disappointment, with the England under-21 star set for a loan move 'elsewhere'.

Two loan deals, though, have been agreed by Burton with other clubs , with Albion now only waiting on final decisions from the players before they can bring the new personnel in.

In total, Clough is still keen on bringing four or five new faces to the Pirelli Stadium before September 1 to complement his squad and the previous arrivals of Matty Lund, Luke Murphy, Jake Buxton, Stephen Warnock, Hope Akpan, Connor Ripley and Liam Boyce - who is out for the majority of the campaign.

Matty Lund was the Brewers' first signing of the summer

But he admits that, despite Albion's Championship heroics last season, business is proving even tougher 12 months on.

"We didn't expect it so much," said Clough when asked about whether he anticipated it being easier or not to attract players to the Pirelli this summer.

"We started talking in May, and we've probably never talked to as many clubs and agents as we have done the last three months with so little success.

"Because of the rewards in the Championship, it's nothing like the Premier League, but the rewards are substantial these days, so they are all waiting for if they can get those.

Cauley Woodrow won't be returning to Burton Albion this summer

"And they can offer a lot more than we can.

"We just have to wait and see when those things don't happen.

"It's like Cauley. Yes, we can offer this for a loan, but somebody has come in with a better offer, so you move onto the next one."