Bio
Arriving from League One Shrewsbury Town, Tom Flanagan arrived with almost 400 career appearance to his name.
His career began at MK Dons after progressing through the academy, going on to make almost fifty outings for the club across a five-year spell that was broken up by loans away from Milton Keynes.
Flanagan’s loan stints included time at Kettering Town, Gillingham, Barnet, Stevenage and Plymouth Argyle before his eventual departure from Stadium MK in 2015, where he signed for Burton Albion on a free transfer.
And it was a successful move as the commanding defender made his mark with twenty appearances as Burton won promotion to the Championship for the first time with a second-place finish – two points behind Wigan Athletic.
And Flanagan was again an important part of the squad in the second tier, helping the team avoid relegation with thirty-three appearances to his name, following it up with another thirty the following season.
The following season started a four-year stay at the Stadium of Light with Sunderland for the defender. The Black Cats were narrowly defeated in the play-off final at Wembley in Tom’s first season in the north east, with Tom notching up over 100 outings for the club as they flirted with promotion.
His switch to Shrewsbury Town came the same season that Sunderland would win promotion from the third tier via the play-offs, with Tom departing the club in January.
A regular in defence for Shrewsbury saw him gain almost 100 outings in a two-and-a-half year stint in Shropshire, before signing for the U’s in July of 2024 on a one-year deal.
In addition to his club appearances, Tom has also earned thirteen caps for Northern Ireland since his debut for the senior squad in 2017. His last appearance for his country was in 2022 against Greece in the Nations League.
“Moving forward with where we’re going, I think we’ve proved that, with our fundamentals, that we’re so adaptable and we can bring people in - and that’s really important.”
Tom Flanagan, Pre Shrewsbury Town