Winger Nathan Thomas has left the Stags to join Hartlepool United, the club can confirm.
The 21-year-old handed in a transfer request to manager Adam Murray after expressing a desire to move closer to his native North-East.Â
Thomas linked up with the Stags in the summer of 2015 and has made 21 appearances for the club this season, 12 of which were as a substitute, scoring one goal in the 4-0 win over Crawley Town in September.
Manager Adam Murray said: “Nathan came to us last week with a transfer request.
“He’s only ‘a baby’ and has been around the country to try and settle and plant some roots for him and his family [during his early career].
“An opportunity presented itself for Nathan where he has more security - a move which takes him back home.
“I have let him go with a heavy heart.  In spells, he has shown that he is a good player. The thing with Nathan was, we needed consistency from him on the football pitch. For 10-20 minutes here and there he was brilliant, but we needed to rely on him week-in-week-out, and in my eyes he wasn’t at that stage of his development.
“Nathan wants to play every week, which is understandable. Hartlepool came in for him and we’ve come to an arrangement which suits both parties.
"[This transfer] has been one of the toughest calls I’ve had to make as a manager because I was close to Nathan as a person." he added.
The club would like to place on record its thanks to Nathan for his efforts this season.Â
