Dave Edwards: Another season at Shrewsbury could do Daniel Udoh some good

I can’t see Shrewsbury wanting to let Dan go to Millwall or anywhere on the cheap, they will want a decent fee, but whatever happens Dan will approach it with the best attitude possible.

Dan’s had a brilliant season with his performances and goals, but Shrewsbury have played a part in that.

Town and Steve Cotterill have given him that chance, developed him and they deserve credit for that.

The way Dan plays he is going to get interest from higher, because even if he’s not scoring goals he gives you a performance with his work rate and what he does for the team. When you add in his goals – he made it 16 for the season against Doncaster on Monday – assists and hold-up play developed this year, he’s a very attractive proposition.

High-end League One clubs and bottom-half Championship clubs will all be looking at someone like Dan.

He would be relatively cheap in regards to their budget, but it’s just whether they can prise him away from Shropshire in terms of a fee.

It’s a difficult one for me as a friend of Dan’s.

You want to see players progress, especially someone like him, I think another season at Shrewsbury would probably be a good thing for him.

He deserves a lot of credit for how he’s turned it around. There’s no way fans thought as much about him this time last year.

I always felt he could progress through the league due to his attitude to training and natural attributes.

He’s become a really well-rounded striker now. It’s brilliant for him and the club he is getting recognition from higher up and it’ll be fascinating to see what happens.

Town were involved in two games full of goals over the Bank Holiday weekend. Sunderland was a good performance on the whole responding to a disappointing start.

They do seem to produce in the big games, Town players. It was a great finish from Josh Vela after a really smart cut-back and brilliant to see Tom Flanagan score against his old team. What a signing he’s been.

It’s never nice to concede so late in a game like that and it’s just a shame what happened in the second half of Monday against Rovers has scuppered what would’ve been a good week.

They were three great goals from Dan, a brave Ryan Bowman header and Super Shaun Whalley continuing to fight his case for a new deal.

But as good as Town were in the first half they were bad in the second. Steve Cotterill will be seething. As a player, if you get through the first 10 or 15 minutes of that second half you can cruise through, but Town didn’t.

Giving away poor goals is so unlike Shrewsbury of late. A win there would’ve built optimism.

The manager won’t like it but as a recently retired professional footballer, at 3-0 up at this point of the season with nothing on the line you do take your foot off the pedal a bit. It’s been a long, hard season for the players.

They’ve seen what’s happened to Elliott Bennett, Digga Davis and Ethan Ebanks-Landell, you don’t want to pick up an injury just before the summer.

You really look forward to the break as a player. You count down the final games and training sessions, particularly if promotion or going down isn’t on the line. You don’t want to put a good six-week break in jeopardy with an injury.

The manager won’t want to let that happen and he’ll be thoroughly disappointed.

I remember once with Wolves, when we got promoted out of League One, my contract was up and I was thinking ‘I just don’t want to get injured’, you don’t want to scupper contract renewals or someone signing you.

I feel for the three of those players above, all out of contract and injured. Elliott’s definitely done enough to be here next year, speaking to the lads at Shrewsbury they rate him so highly on and off the pitch. He’s a real leader.

Ethan’s had a good season and been captain, so he is likely to be offered something, but Flanagan’s arrival has eased the burden on his absence.

Dave Davis is a little different, he was in good form prior to injury but with him been released and then taken back at the end of last season, he’s the one I feel Steve may be weighing up a little bit more.