Shrewsbury Town remain hopeful in pursuit of Josh Ruffels with offer on table
Shrewsbury Town remain hopeful of landing free agent Josh Ruffels and have a contract offer on the table.
Highly-regarded left-back Ruffels, who turns 32 this month, has been without a club since departing Huddersfield at the end of last season and has spent time training with Shrewsbury.
Boss Michael Appleton previously managed Ruffels at Oxford earlier in the full-back's career and is a big fan of his qualities.
Town have tabled a contract for the left-sided defender and remain one of the clubs in the hunt for his signature. Appleton revealed last week Ruffels has recently trained at a different, unnamed club.
Reports claiming Ruffels had turned down Shrewsbury's offer are thought to be incorrect and Town remain optimistic in their pursuit of the full-back, whose professional career began in 2011 and has spanned 400 games.
Appleton said on Friday morning: "He's not signed anywhere yet, so that's a positive. We have got an offer on the table that he's aware of.
"It'll be down to him whether he comes here or goes elsewhere. I'm aware that he's a quality player and the level he's at, he would be certainly an upgrade and be a great addition to us. But I'm sure these two or three other teams and coaches are thinking the same thing."
The head coach has previously said Shrewsbury can only work to their budget and the club remain hopeful of a couple of loan exits to free up more finances.
Appleton's second-bottom Town host top-half Cambridge United at Croud Meadow on Saturday, the first of back-to-back home fixtures with lowly Crawley Town making the trip the following weekend.
Town are hunting for a first home league win since February 1.
On-loan Manchester United goalkeeper Elyh Harrison is likely to be included in Town's squad against the U's despite international duty with England under-20s.
Harrison remained an unused substitute as the Young Lions lost 1-0 against Switzerland at St George's Park on Friday afternoon.
The teenager, who has recently lost his place in Appleton's side to Will Brook, is allowed to feature among Shrewsbury's options as he did not play any minutes for the England side. Players are not permitted to play twice in 24 hours.
Defender Tom Anderson is still sidelined for another couple of weeks with a calf injury.
