Steve Cotterill: Marko Marosi ‘one of best in league’

The Shrewsbury manager landed one of his top summer targets in the permanent signing of the Slovakia stop-stopper from Coventry City.

Marosi, 27, was handed a three-year contract and has impressed despite his side’s early struggles.

Cotterill holds the former Doncaster and Sky Blues man among the leading League One keepers. The boss also explained why his permanent capture allowed Shrewsbury to not have the constantly yearly worry of replacing top loan prospects like Dean Henderson, Max O’Leary and Matija Sarkic.

“He was a good acquisition, I wouldn’t say purchase – you have to spend money when you purchase – he was an acquisition,” Cotterill said of Marosi, who was born in Slovakia but moved to Lancashire with his family aged 13.

“I waited a long time for Marko. Marko will be in the top six goalkeepers in our division, without a shadow of a doubt.

“He’s a great shot-stopper, comes for things, catches or punches it, great with his feet, settles the back three so much more.

“It’s great having him, he’s a great lad, quite boisterous around the place, he’s got a booming voice, same as Luke Leahy.

“I’m really pleased we sat it out to get him.”

Cotterill, who was manager of Burnley when Marosi moved to the area and began attending Turf Moor as a fan, revealed it was another Lancashire contact that proved key to landing the keeper.

The boss was able to use his close relationship with Marosi’s agent Kiko Rodriguez – father of hometown Burnley star striker Jay – to seal the deal.

“He played 20 games in the Championship last year. It was made aware to us they were looking at a goalkeeper.

Cotterill added: “His agent is Kiko Rodriguez – who luckily for me is Jay Rodriguez’s father, I gave Jay his first contract in professional football it meant I’m always going to get good contacts.

“We met twice and it’s funny how things work out. When you’re waiting you think ‘we really want this one to drop’.

“We’ve had some really good goalkeepers here in Henderson and O’Leary, they’ve only been on loan, they will always go back and you end up with the same old problem.

“We’re not going to end up with that problem with Marko, he’s ours.”

“I was really pleased to get that one done. It would’ve been nice to get a couple of others over the line that we didn’t, they would’ve been waiting for like Marko, but you can’t get everybody.”