Dave Edwards: Shrewsbury keeper signing vital to Michael Appleton's identity
The goalkeeping department is a position I have spoken about a lot in pre-season. I always thought the loan option would be the way.
With only Toby Savin in the building as a first-team keeper, we always knew there was going to be another shot stopper coming through the door.
With the type of football Michael Appleton is going to want to play, this was always a vital position to fill. In terms of distribution, you are not really going to find that from the lower leagues with journeyman League One and League Two keepers.
So a loan from a top club was always the most likely option. Appleton has obviously got big connections with Manchester United, and we have not got a bad record of loaning keepers from there - Dean Henderson is a good example of that.
Elyh Harrison certainly fits the bill and it looks like he will be joining Salop. I have watched a lot of his clips, from when interest first came around. He got some first-team football at Chester last season, albeit at National League North level, which is a long way away from what he will get at Shrewsbury.
He was in and around the United first team at the back end of the season, and I know he is very highly thought of.
He is just 19, he is very agile and a good shot stopper, as you would expect him to be. The biggest thing will be his distribution.
Noticeably, he is very comfortable on the ball. He gets great distance with his kicks. But more so, his ability to just stand on the ball and wait for pressure. The moment it comes, he can pick a pass. If you have players in front of you who are willing to receive it, whether it is the defenders or the midfielders, dropping deep. That can be really hard to play against as an opposition, especially at League Two level.
He can pick passes ranging from 10, 20 and even 30 yards into tight spaces. That is going to be a huge asset, and it is going to be a big theme about how he wants to play.
To do that, your keeper is so important. While Toby Savin has done well so far in pre-season, this was always going to be a position which needed strengthening with a different skillset.
From what I have seen of Harrison, I am really excited about what he can bring. What Shrews fans will have to remember is that he is a young lad and he will make mistakes, but I think he will make them a better team.
The start to pre-season has been positive, especially with the defensive signings. Sam Clucas will no doubt add quality as well as a vastly experienced player.
They do need more players in that area and potentially the wing-back area. I am sure the fans will be delighted with winning football games again. I have said so many times that winning is a habit.
Getting victories, having your strikers scoring goals and keeping clean sheets can only be a positive.
There is still work to be done, but they can only play what is in front of them.
Not all of pre-season has been positive. There have been moments in games that Appleton has not been happy with, which is always likely to happen with a new group. But there has been enough good spells to take some real positives from also.
While Town have numbers in midfield, I think there are a lot of workmanlike players in there. It would be good to maybe get some talented younger players from higher up the football pyramid. Ironically, I feel like somebody similar to Leo Castledine would fit perfectly into this 3-5-2 formation.
