Shrewsbury Town move in on Port Vale's Ryan McGivern and AJ Leitch-Smith
Shrewsbury are believed to be close to completing the double signing of defender Ryan McGivern and striker AJ Leitch-Smith with both players arriving from League One rivals Port Vale.
In what is a big coup for boss Micky Mellon, the much converted Leitch-Smith arrives at Greenhous Meadow having turned down the offer of a contract extension at Vale Park.
McGivern, who can play at left-back and centre-back, has been snapped up having been surprisingly released by the Valiants at the end of the season.
The 26-year-old began his career at Manchester City and has won 23 caps for Northern Ireland, but has missed out on a place in Michael O'Neill's 23-man squad for Euro 2016.
But it's the signing of Leitch-Smith that will most excite fans with the 26-year-old producing a string of eye-catching displays last season.
The forward had been expected to join former Vale boss Rob Page who recently left to take charge at Northampton.
But the technically gifted frontman, who scored 12 goals last season, has instead opted for a move to Shropshire.
Leitch-Smith came through the youth ranks at Crewe and made more than 100 appearances for the Railwaymen before joining Yeovil in 2014.
But it was in Staffordshire that he really began to realise his potential with club chairman Norman Smurthwaite expressing his disappointment at the striker's decision to turn down the new deal offered by his club.
"I received an email from his agent to say they are rejecting the offer and they wished to terminate his contract - which is what we are doing," he said.
"We gave the boy a chance, he does well and then suddenly his salary requirements have gone up six-fold, and it's unfortunate but we are not in that market.
"He has reinvented his career and we've benefitted from it with the results he helped us get in the league, and in that respect we're disappointed but we understand.
"We've just got to go on now and find someone else."
Both arrivals mean Mellon has now made six signings in the close season with Louis Dodds, who has also signed from Vale, joining defender Olly Lancashire and midfielders Gary Deegan and Antoni Sarcevic in Shropshire.
