Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Simpson today swooped for Brentford striker Nathan Elder – completing his third signing in just 24 hours.

Former Brighton man Elder, 24, has made the move from the Bees for a nominal fee and is likely to go straight into the squad for Saturday’s League Two opener against League new-boys Burton Albion.

His arrival follows the completion of deals last night for 22-year-old New Zealand striker Kris Bright and West Brom youngster Joss Labadie, who has joined on loan for an initial month.

Elder scored 10 goals in 35 starts for Brentford following a £35,000 transfer from the Seagulls and has penned a three-year deal at the Prostar Stadium.

“We saw a fair bit of him last year and I think he’s a real threat in this league,” said Simpson.

“At Brentford he scored one goal for every three or four games, but we’re hoping he can keep improving.

“Last year we relied on one player (Grant Holt) for most of out goals but this year we want to spread them out evenly and I feel the players we’ve brought in can all get goals.”

Bright has agreed a two-year deal, having shone in Saturday’s pre-season friendly at Tranmere, while Labadie returns for a second loan spell – having suffered a broken foot on his debut last season.

“With Kris we’ve taken a bit of a gamble because he’s not played in English football before,” added Simpson, of a player who was most recently with Pensarraikos in Greece.

“But after a week of seeing him in training for a couple of days and then how he performed at Tranmere, I had seen enough to want to offer him a deal.

“Joss is one who I have been keen to bring in for quite a while. He’s got strength, physical power and he’s a good footballer as well.”

Meanwhile, wide man Lewis Neal will miss the first four to six weeks of the season after suffering a badly sprained ankle at Tranmere.

But skipper Graham Coughlan and right-back Dean Holden both look on course to be fit to face the Brewers on Saturday.

• Town have been handed a bye to the second round in the northern section of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

By CHRIS HUDSON