Shrewsbury Town striker Jason Cummings hailed after big milestone

Scotland international Cummings reached the impressive milestone with a deadly finish in the 2-1 EFL Trophy win against Bolton.

Cummings, who only recently turned 25, now has 100 goals in just 252 career appearances – only 181 of which were starts.

The left-footed assassin, who joined Salop from Nottingham Forest in September 2019, has been used on the right of Town’s front three by Sam Ricketts this term and has three goals, all in cup competitions.

“To have a goals record like that at the age he has is something special,” said Town’s assistant and former Stoke City Premier League midfielder Dean Whitehead.

“He is that type, he gets a chance and scores. It was only really a half-chance, a good press, he picks up the loose ball and before you know it’s in the back of the net.

“We all know what Jase is about. He’s a goalscorer and he proved that again on Tuesday.

“To have 100 goals in 250-odd games at this point in his career is phenomenal.

“But look Jase can play down the middle, he can play out wide, it’s no problem at all to play in either position.”

Seventy-one of Cummings’ career goals came for Hibernian, who offered him a first chance in the pro game.

The striker repaid the Hibees with three prolific seasons in the Scottish Championship, one of which – in the 2016/17 season – he scored 23 goals alongside Shrewsbury legend Grant Holt to help Hibernian to the title.

The duo were devastating as a front two as Cummings fed off Holt’s effective hold-up play.

A big-money move to Nottingham Forest and loans to Rangers, Peterborough and Luton followed before last year’s permanent Montgomery Waters Meadow switch, where Town’s Joker in the Pack is feeling at home.

Asked if Cummings is satisfied doing a job for the team on the right, Whitehead replied: “You know what Jase is like. He’s happy-go-lucky, he kind of goes and does what you ask of him and does it to the best of his ability.

“I think he played in a 4-4-2 feeding off a big man up top. He showed on Tuesday he can play down the middle. He’s a natural goalscorer and can score off the side as well.”

Town, meanwhile, return to training today ahead of an extended period at Sundorne Castle given Saturday’s scheduled League One trip to Doncaster has been postponed due to the international break.

Ricketts and Town welcomed the postponement, allowing opportunity for the likes of Shaun Whalley and Dave Edwards to step up their injury rehab and time for new recruits Jan Zamburek and Matt Millar to bed in.

Ro-Shaun Williams and Daniels Udoh will have completed their isolation period in time for Shrewsbury’s next fixture, a trip to Loftus Road to face AFC Wimbledon on Saturday week.

Whitehead added: “I think it’s a good thing for us. We have injuries we want to try to clear up.

“And we’ve got new lads in, we want to do lots of work with them and the rest of the squad in the build up to Wimbledon.”