Comment: Is Shrewsbury’s early transfer activity a sign of a hectic summer

But something Shrews have demonstrated over the last six months is that they will sell players - like they did with Roland Idowu on Thursday - if they deem the price to be ‘acceptable’. 

The timing for the former Waterford winger’s departure was not ideal, especially considering assistant head coach Richard O’Donnell had said just 48 hours before that he was going to report back to training at the start of the pre-season with a ‘clean slate’. 

But as Town’s director of football Micky Moore explained, St Mirren, where he has now signed a two-year contract, came in with an offer they believed was fair. 

And with the player showing a desire to move away from Shrewsbury on a permanent basis, in the end it probably suits all parties. 

Interestingly, the boss of the Scottish Premier League side Stephen Robinson said there was a lot of interest in Idowu, from League One clubs, and also rival Scottish sides. It is a throwaway line managers always come out with when they secure a signing but it poses the question if there was interest, could Town have held out a bit longer? 

Idowu did well in Scotland making more than 30 appearances and playing in Europe - fans would have been excited to see if he could deliver in Shropshire. 

Either way, he has now moved on, but his departure throws the future of Max Mata into more doubt. 

The New Zealand international joined Salop in 2023 but his time at the Croud Meadow has just never got going. There are lots of similarities between his and Idowu’s situation. They both came from the League of Ireland, they both fell out of favour and they both headed out on loan. 

So it is only reasonable to pose the question, is Mata the next player out of the door? 

It certainly would not come as a surprise. He is on loan at Auckland FC in his hometown, where he has just got engaged to a professional netballer. You would think moving back to the UK would not be part of his plans. 

As for the rest. Shrews underperformed so much last season is it fair to say that almost everyone would be for sale for the right price. 

Alex Gilliead was probably the standout player, and you would think they will try to keep him if they can - there were a couple of others that did OK too. 

But with Michael Appleton and O’Donnell preparing for life in League Two, there is probably an element of both of them wanting to start fresh. It gives them the chance to build a team in their own image - one which will include a more possession-based style of play. 

The window started well with the signing of Tom Anderson from Doncaster Rovers. A dominating centre-back is just what the team needs, and he has countless experience in League Two having played at this level for several years. 

All eyes turn to what Shrewsbury do next in the window as the rebuild for life in the fourth tier is well under way.