Speculation was mounting today that record Shrewsbury Town signing Grant Holt is on the verge of leaving the club in a big money move.

The  29-year-old, who was top scorer in League Two last season, was conspicuous by his absence for last night’s 2-0 defeat to West Brom in a pre-season friendly at the Prostar Stadium.

And sources claim the former Rochdale and Nottingham Forest marksman could be close to completing a move elsewhere – with League One side Norwich City heavily linked.

Town, who paid £170,000 to bring Holt from Forest last summer, have already rejected a bid from Colchester for their prize asset during the close season.

Manager Paul Simpson refused to go into the reasons for the striker’s absence last night, but stopped short of dismissing talk of a departure.

“He wasn’t available for the game and that’s all there is to say at the moment,” said Simpson. “We’ll just have to see what happens over the next couple of days.

“He had an operation about six weeks ago, so we’re not taking any chances and we’ll just see how he is.

“There’s been rumours since last January that he’s going here, there and everywhere but we will tell people if there’s anything to tell. It’s as simple as that.”

Meanwhile, the Town chief is hoping the ankle injury suffered by skipper Graham Coughlan against the Baggies will not develop into a long-term problem.

Coughlan limped off during the second half, but Simpson is hopeful he will be fit in time for the season opener against Burton Albion on August 8.

“He just rolled his ankle, but we’re hoping it’s not too serious,” said Simpson.

“He’s probably going to be a doubt for the weekend (friendly against Leicester) but I wouldn’t think he’d be a doubt for August 8 , which is the only one that matters to us.

“We’ll see how he goes and it’s the last thing we need – we don’t need any more injuries at the moment because we are very, very short on numbers as it is.”

Town included trialist right-winger Craig Dobson against West Brom, and the Shrewsbury boss was today weighing up whether to further his interest in the ex-Brentford and MK Dons man.

By CHRIS HUDSON