Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst hopes to steal a march on loan deals
Paul Hurst hopes he can rely on good relations in order to steal a march in retaining some of Town's talented loanees from last season.
Shrewsbury finished the campaign with six loan players at Greenhous Meadow, Jack Grimmer – who said a farewell and thanked supporters today – Tyler Roberts, Stephen Humphrys, Stefan Payne, Ryan Yates and Freddie Ladapo.
While coy on identities, Town's chief admitted that he would be keen to bring a couple of the loan players back for another spell.
But Hurst is aware that some of the young players may aspire to better things moving forward, be it with their parent clubs or another loan spell higher up the pyramid.
Hurst believes that, should there be League One interest of a similar stature to Town, he could secure a first option on their return.
"Who knows? And I think that comes down to who else is interested in them, to a degree," said the boss.
"Yes I would be interested in getting some of them again, I'm not going to say who, but I would be.
"But if Championship clubs come in for them, then they're going to go to Championship clubs.
"Or if their parent clubs are in and around it, we haven't got a chance.
"If it's someone in our league, depending on who, maybe if it's someone similar-ish, then yes I'd like to think we've got a good chance because they've all enjoyed their time here.
"That's only going to get better in terms of moving to a training ground and I want to build a better squad. A couple of them could be part of it, but who knows?"
Hurst has conducted talks with the six, who all played their part in helping Town secure League One survival.
Grimmer, while not seen as an automatic first-team option, still made 27 appearances. West Brom starlet Roberts struck four goals and lit the Meadow up with some of his displays.
Roberts, 18, has already reportedly become subject of interest from Championship outfit Barnsley.
Dancing forward Ladapo also became a firm favourite with his crucial goals throughout January and February.
While Payne, Humphrys and Yates were all involved, particularly towards the end, as Town edged over the 50 point mark to safety.
"There will be with a couple (we're interested in)," Hurst added: "The others I've spoken to and thanked for keeping us in League One."
