Shrewsbury Town today ended their initial search for a striker by paying Crawley Town £20,000 for Cameroon forward Guy Madjo.The 23-year-old - who has spent the past six weeks on loan at Cheltenham - has signed for Town on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
Former Stockport midfielder Keith Briggs - who can also play at full-back - has also joined Shrewsbury on non-contract terms.
It is the signing of Madjo, however, which will provide most interest for Town fans, who could get a glimpse of the forward in tomorrow’s derby at Hereford after the deal was completed in time for him to feature at Edgar Street.
After beginning his career at Bristol City in 2005, Madjo has had spells at Forest Green and Stafford Rangers before coming to prominence at Crawley this season where he has bagged 17 goals in 11 Blue Square Premier games.
That attracted attention from Cheltenham, who took the forward on loan in November, before Shrewsbury stepped in to secure the permanent signature of a player who attended a training camp with the Cameroon squad in November, but has not been included in their original African Nations Cup squad.
“Guy is someone I watched regularly at Stafford Rangers and he has got a great goalscoring record in scoring 32 goals in 72 starts in the Conference,” said manager Gary Peters, who insisted he is still keen to sign another forward before the end of the January window
“Anyone who averages better than one goal in three games has got a very good record and he does that.
“I have spoken to Phil Robinson (former Stafford Rangers manager) and he said it’s not just the goals he scores but the ones he makes as well.
Briggs, meanwhile, left Stockport earlier this month when his contract expired and is to be given his chance.
“Keith’s a good type who has been playing full-back but prefers to play wide right or central midfield,” he said.
9 Comments
i do feel disapointed with the signings nothing against the two players which may both be very good but its a proven league striker we are all begging for and we have just unloaded ashton because we have too many defenders it seems to prove what we all think peters cant attract quality players i see its pay on the day at hereford now as so few town fans are going i cant see todays signings make anyone change there mind
with no game today i’ve spent a bit of time researching this fella and he was very prolific at the start of the season and if he hadn’t disapeared off the radar to cheltenham for a while he’d be up there with stuart fleetwood on 20 odd blue square goals this season.
Hopefully Madjo will do well for us - signing players from none league is always a bit hit and miss but he seems to have a good scoring record at Crawley. On paper we seem to have a good mix of experience (Cooke) and potential (Madjo, Hibbert) up front, so lets hope we see some goals from the strikers in the 2nd half of the season.
I’m getting fed up with the negative comments on this message board - the poor fella hasn’t even kicked a ball yet! Lets give Madjo a chance to prove that’s he’s the 20 goal a season striker that all of the supporters have been waiting for. If he isn’t, then I guess the moaners will be entitled to lead the “Peter’s out”
chanting.
cant understand whats going on,i agree with u clive very disappointed in signings.briggs plays right back and we have got 2.and i really cant see madjo being the answer,we need proven players but we dont seem to attract anyone at the mo
there is a footballer here in exeter who is causing interest at plymouth and cheltenham, jamie mackie
Clive maun - What about Bates and Hayward they were an absolute revalation for Town when they signed from non League Stourbridge
Well I just hope he gets the service he deserves as a striker because playing upfront for STFC has to be the hardest job in League2 - If he manages to succeed where so many others have failed under the guidance of Mr Peters he will be more than worthy and fully deserving of all the accolades.
The strikers graveyard is almost full to overflowing with players who have come and gone and more to the point strikers who have arrived with a glowing reputation and who have left with that same reputation in tatters.
Even Rooney, Anelka, Drogba and Berbatov would struggle with such a defensive approach adopted by the current manager, it’s midfield creativity and enthusiasm that’s required and then and only then will the strikers be given something to feed off.
Good luck Guy - Heaven knows you’ll certainly need it!
Weve got Guy Madjo,
Better than Eto’o!!!