Shrewsbury Town striker Rekeil Pyke ready to give rivals a rough ride
Rekeil Pyke is relishing the physical battle this season – and hopes to prove he can be Shrewsbury Town’s all-round centre-forward.
The frontman, signed on a three-year deal from Huddersfield this summer, caught the eye in netting on his Town debut at Middlesbrough last week.
Pyke was a long-term target of boss Sam Ricketts – who he played under on loan at Wrexham. The Town chief tried to sign Pyke in three transfer windows and has given the Yorkshire-born 23-year-old the No.9 shirt this season.
“It’s what I like to do,” Pyke said of physical battles with defenders. “I like to let defenders know they are in a game.
“To not let them have an easy game. I put myself about and work hard for the team.
“I like to run in behind, but I also need to be a platform for them (Town team-mates) to play into me, to set it back, and then the wingers can run in behind. But I can do both.
“I just need to be more consistent and show that this season. Getting hold of the ball and being big and strong.
“I’ve just got to keep working hard up there and hopefully I’ll score many more goals.”
Pyke looked a strong, mobile and athletic focal point at the Riverside last week and could make his Shrewsbury league debut at Portsmouth in Saturday’s curtain-raiser.
The striker has six separate loan spells with four clubs away from Huddersfield , who he joined at under-12s level.
He added on making the switch to Shropshire permanent: “It feels more real. I want to establish my place in the team and hopefully we can achieve something great.”
Ricketts’ side delivered on the manager’s promise of a new attack-minded style in last week’s Carabao Cup exit.
“We’ve been playing a great attacking style, we’ve worked hard in training, and hopefully we can keep it going,” added Pyke, who netted five goals in 23 games with Ricketts at Wrexham.
“The standard is high, the lads are at each other in a good way. We’ve got to keep the standards high.”
Boss Ricketts was extremely impressed with his new striker’s debut in blue and amber – and thinks his capture on a free transfer is ‘excellent business’ by Town.
“Riki is stronger than people think, at little quicker than people think,” Ricketts said. “He’s not the finished article, but he’s young, (just turned) 23, and he’s our player for the next three years. We managed to get him on a free which is excellent business, I think, when you saw what he was capable of at Middlesbrough.
“The next three years we’ll be developing and trying to improve him.
“He can score goals, I’ve seen it myself. He’s done it with ease, at under-23s level, this is a step up and he proved last week he can score and he had other chances to score.”
Ricketts is believed to be targetting at least one more striker before the window shuts next month.
