Shrewsbury Town won't rush free agent signings - says Michael Appleton

The head coach revealed in midweek Town are interested in signing players who are without a team despite the season being more than a month into action.

The transfer window closed on Monday with Salop adding Bradley Ihionvien to their ranks on loan from Peterborough on the final day of trading.

Shrews have a small squad with 19 outfield players, including both goalkeepers, as well as youngsters Isaac England and Will Gray.

To add more players, they will now have to sign free agents, but to do so the players still need to have the right characteristics, says Appleton.

He said: “I think we've got three weeks haven't we, where there's no midweek games. So obviously you've just got a little bit more time to catch your breath a little bit and take a step back.

“But having said that, like I say, we've been in dialogue with different players for a long time now and watching the games that they've been involved in and all that type of stuff.

“But it's like all these things, you know, the reality is, you know, there's so many things that have to be right.

“One, the right type of personality, the right type of player and obviously from a financial point of view, to make sure that works as well.”

It has been a busy month. Town have played on four occasions in midweek across different competitions, and have been focusing on the final stages of the transfer window.

They now have some time to spend on the training ground and to think about what they might need to improve the squad.

“I think after Saturday will be the first free week for a while,” he said. “I think we have two or three on the bounce where it's Saturday to Saturday rather than having games in between.

“So, at least we've got an opportunity then where it sort of settles down and we can do a little bit more work with the group, but at the same time, make sure we know what's out there and available.

“We're mindful of who is there and on that list anyway. We're mindful of other people too who are not necessarily there as well.

“We'll find out what the situation is. We've talked and decided what to do.

“But I think right now it is more about what it looks like beyond maybe Saturday.”

Town will be without goalkeeper Elyh Harrison for the clash against Barnet, with Will Brook set to make his league debut for the club.

Anthony Scully is also not available. He is still suffering from a groin injury.

George Lloyd has not played since he came off just before the half-hour mark in the game at Swindon. But he has recovered from a hamstring issue and will be back in contention for the trip to the capital.

Toto Nsiala trudged off on Tuesday with what looked to be a serious injury in the game against the Saddlers, but Appleton revealed the defender is fine and has trained since.