AJ Leitch-Smith sees ambition at Shrewsbury
New recruit AJ Leitch-Smith has revealed the ambition of manager Micky Mellon was one of the key reasons he opted to join Shrewsbury Town.
The 26-year-old striker was officially announced as a Salop player last week after turning down the offer of a new contract at Port Vale.
Leitch-Smith was unveiled alongside fellow ex-Valiant Ryan McGivern with the pair becoming Town's fifth and sixth signings of the summer.
The forward drew a number of admirers for his form last season with his 12 goals seeing him end the campaign as Vale's top scorer.
And, while he had a number of other offers on the table, it was Mellon's enthusiasm that convinced him to head to Greenhous Meadow.
Leitch-Smith told the club's website: "The gaffer's very ambitious and so are the type of players he's bringing in.
"It looks like we're going to have a good squad next season, so there were quite a few factors that drew me here in the end.
"Micky told me about his plans and where he sees the club going, the type of people he wants to bring in and it all fitted into somewhere where I'd like to go and we finally got it done.
"I did have quite a bit of interest and had a few offers as well but, in the end, this was the place for me."
Leitch-Smith began his career with Crewe and played more than 100 times for the Railwaymen before moving onto Yeovil and then Port Vale.
At all three of his previous clubs he has been deployed as both an out-and-out striker and in the No 10 role.
But he says he is happy to play anywhere for Town so long as he is contributing to the team.
He continued: "I'd say I can finish, I'm comfortable on the ball and I can create chances and score goals.
"I can play as a number 10 or a number nine, so I think I'm quite flexible at that. I want to do well for the team, score goals and help Shrewsbury climb the table."
Assistant boss Mike Jackson has also backed Leitch-Smith to be a big hit in Shropshire.
He added: "He links up play well and he creates for others as well. He has great movement. And again he fits the bill of being around these levels who can get double figures.
"We had to bring a striker in and we are possibly looking for another one maybe. You need that sort of competition up front like we have got in the middle of the park."
