Shrewsbury Town close in on Sligo Rovers forward Max Mata
Shrewsbury Town are poised to boost their forward line with the signing of Max Mata from Sligo Rovers.
It was reported earlier in the week that Shrews were monitoring the New Zealand international – but it looks as if the 22-year-old is set to sign for the Shropshire side before their first League One game of the season against Cheltenham this weekend.
The striker scored 11 goals in 23 matches last season in the Irish Premier League and is understood to be highly thought of by Town.
Auckland-born Mata moved to Switzerland in 2015 to play for Grasshopper Zurich – he never made into the first team, but scored five goals in 10 appearances for their reserves.
He has played for Nomme Kalju and Real Monarchs before he signed for Sligo in 2022.
Mata currently has 18 months left on his deal with the Irish Premier League side so Shrews will have to pay a fee for him. It will not be the first time that Shrewsbury’s director of football Micky Moore has raided Sligo for one of their star players.
In his former role at Cheltenham Town, he signed Aidan Keena in January for a a fee of around 85,000 euros and Mata has since had to fill the void he left. Bringing in a forward before the weekend is essential for Salop after they let Aiden O’Brien go out on loan for the first part of the season.
The former Sunderland man has joined Sutton United on loan until January 20 – it is the second loan O’Brien has had during his time with the Shrews after he went to Gillingham for the second half of last season.
Dan Udoh and Ryan Bowman are the only two senior strikers they have in the squad ahead of the opening game.
Bowman did not feature too heavily last season and neither did Udoh, who suffered an ACL injury.
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