Shrewsbury swoop for Wigan's Jack Hendry
Shrewsbury Town have swooped to sign Wigan Athletic centre-back Jack Hendry on loan for the rest of the season.
The highly-rated 20-year-old is needed with Zak Whitbread and Jermaine Grandison still struggling with injury and Dom Smith away with Wales Under-21s.
Hendry has made three appearances for Wigan this season - all in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy - after just five games for Patrick.
Town manager Micky Mellon said: "I've known him since he was at Partick Thistle and he's a very good young footballer.
"I've watched his progress as he developed at Partick and then he got a big-money move to Wigan and I continued to watch his progress.
"We've had to have a long conversation with Wigan because they rate him very highly but they've agreed that the time is right for Jack to be in another environment to continue his progress.
"I've seen him in the first team this season on the couple of occasions when I've been to watch and he's played in the reserves against us a couple of times.
"He's continued to impress me so when the need was there to have another centre back, he was definitely one I'd try to bring in."
Grandison (hip) and Whitbread (hamstring) haven't been able to complete full training and with Smith away on international duty, Town only have one fit centre back - Nathaniel Knight-Percival.
Mellon said: "We've got a lot of injuries - Jermaine and Zak are touch and go and Dom Smith is away playing for Wales.
"So it's pretty much a necessity - we need another centre back for the nine games left.
"He'll go into the squad and we'll be fair; we've done some work with him and Jermaine trained this morning but he can't do a full session, so we'll have a look to see how he's reacted.
"I'm more pleased to have a fit centre back in the building who I'm delighted to have."
It takes Town's five loan quota up to five with Fulham pair Jack Grimmer and Larnell Cole, Crystal Palace's Sullay Kaikai and James Wallace from Sheffield United.
And Mellon believes Hendry has plenty of quality to flourish at the Greenhous Meadow.
The Town chief added: "He's a good lad, he's six feet four tall and he's quick and a good footballer.
"This is the market that we've sometimes got to be in and we've got to be looking at all the time, that's why we work so hard on recruitment so we can act when these situations come up."
