CLARKE CARLISLE completed a shock move to Burnley yesterday (Thursday).

Carlisle signed for Steve Cotterill's men after the two clubs agreed a £200,000 for the defender.

Carlisle was given permission by Aidy Boothroyd to hold talks with the Clarets on Wednesday and completed the formalities of his move to Turf Moor yesterday.

Cotterill moved to sign Carlisle, who was born in Lancashire, after selling Wayne Thomas to Southampton for £1.2m.

"I'll be delighted to have Clarke on board, he's 27, so we've kept the age down, and we've got a good, experienced player at this level. I'm looking forward to him being in training with the boys and being involved at Scunthorpe," said Cotterill.

"Clarke is a good leader, he's a charming young man, educated, speaks well, but more importantly is athletic, 6ft 3ins and strong."

The decision to let Carlisle go will surprise Hornets fans.

Following an impressive end to last season, including a man-of-the-match performance against Manchester United in the semi-final of the FA Cup, he looked a shoo-in at centre-half until the final two games of pre-season when he was dropped against Willem II and then asked to play for the second string against Lincoln.

Boothroyd is well catered for in the centre-half department and appears to have decided to allow Carlisle to leave following Cedric Avinel's impressive performance against Gillingham on Tuesday night.

Carlisle signed from Leeds in August 2005 and turned out to be a snip at £100,000. He played a pivotal role in the Hornets' promotion-winning season before being struck down in April with a thigh injury that kept him out of the game for almost a year.

Following a loan spell at Luton Town, Carlisle looked like he had never been away on his return against Portsmouth and did enough in that 90 minutes to win a place ahead of Shittu in the semi-final at Villa Park a week later.

Indeed, it looked like Shittu might have been the one to make way following the arrival of Jackson in the summer but it is Carlisle who has now been deemed surplus to requirements.