JOHN Brayford has signed a new one-year deal which will keep him at the Pirelli Stadium for the 2019/20 season.
Brayford rejoined the Brewers permanently in 2017 after originally coming through the club's youth system as a teenager.
He made more than 100 appearances in his first spell with the club before earning a move to Crewe Alexandra.
He went on to play for Derby County, Cardiff City and Sheffield United before returning to the Brewers on loan from the Blades in the 2016/17 season.
He was voted as runner-up in the Player of The Year Awards after playing a key role in the club’s survival in the Brewers first-ever season in the Championship.
After re-signing permanently for the club, he has been a major part of the Brewers defence for the last two years.
Albion manager Nigel Clough is delighted that Brayford has signed a new deal, seeing the experience of the full back and club captain Jake Buxton as vital to his hopes of making progress next season.
He said: “John is playing as well as any time we have seen him in the last 15 years. We saw him more as a centre half around Christmas time and he went back to right back and has been bombing up and down like he used to. The quality of his play now he has matured has been better than it has ever been.
“He played more than 40 games last season as well. We wouldn’t take him and Jake on if we didn’t think they could do 35-40 games.”
Brayford said: “It was never in doubt really given how fond I am of this place and the players we had last year and I think we are building something really good towards the end of last season.
"It's nice to be part of the foundation of what the football club is built on. There are people who haven't been around as long as me and Jake and it's about trying to help them on and off the pitch as well.
"We want to take the way we were playing at the end of last year into the new season and then I know we won't be too far away."