Paul Hurst happy to play waiting game with sales at Shrewsbury Town
Paul Hurst believes Shrewsbury Town’s unwanted crop could prove a handy coup for any potential suitors.
While so far adding three fresh faces to his blue and amber squad, Hurst has maintained that he is keen to whittle down the squad and move on players who saw little football last season.
With transfer movement set to accelerate after players return to pre-season next Friday, Hurst is calm with the lack of exits from Greenhous Meadow so far.
And he believes the players not in his plans could impress elsewhere and prove good options.
“At the minute there’s been one or two inquiries and that’s all there is,” said Town’s chief.
“I’ve made some available, so they’re not in my plans. But it’s certainly not the be-all-and-end-all, it’s an opinion.
“And I do feel that a lot I’ve made available would be good options for people. That remains to be seen whether anything happens.
“The longer it goes the more inquiries we’ll have.”
Hurst is putting his stamp on the Shrewsbury squad in his first summer in the role and has already brought in Jon Nolan, Lenell John-Lewis and Arthur Gnahoua – the two former being players he has coached before.
Mat Sadler and Shaun Whalley also sealed new deals, alongside young goalkeeper Shaun Rowley.
An agreement with midfielder Bryn Morris, who caught the eye last season, is believed to be nearing fruition.
But defenders Olly Lancashire and Ryan McGivern were scarcely used, while club captain Adam El-Abd was mostly a late substitute.
Midfielder Jim O’Brien was shipped out on loan to Ross County by Hurst. The boss maintains that players not fancied could do a job elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Hurst is waiting until pre-season is on track before tapping into the loan market.
Town finished the year with six loanees. Several – notably Tyler Roberts and Stefan Payne – played a key part in survival.
But Hurst is aware that rival clubs will want to assess their number before making loanees available.
“Loan moves are down to other clubs more than anything. They want their players in from pre-season to have a look at them and see how they’re fixed,” he said.
“They may have signings in, things like that do take time and people are reluctant to let players out this early.”
Town have confirmed a pre-season trip to Brackley Town for Tuesday, July 11 (7pm kick-off).
