Shrewsbury Town academy star eyes league glory with under-18s

Salop's under-18s currently sit second in the EFL Youth Alliance North West, nine points adrift of leaders Preston North End, but with two games in hand.

In their latest league outing, Shrewsbury thumped Port Vale 6-0, with Thompson-McKenzie contributing two goals and two assists. The forward says he is relishing the battle at the top of the table and has high hopes for the season. 

He said: "It feels good, but we have to make sure we finish on top of the pile. Hopefully when the season is done, we can take the title.

"We got knocked out of the PDL Cup which wasn't a good feeling, but I think it is more motivation to do well in the league and try and win something this season.

"Especially for us second-years as it is our last time together as a group, so it would be nice to win something as a group."

Thompson-McKenzie joined Romulus on a youth loan earlier this season before returning to the academy and getting back among the goals.

He scored against West Bromwich Albion in a friendly this month and helped Shrewsbury to a 1-1 draw against Arsenal's youngsters.  

The forward also featured in Shrewsbury's pre-season in summer 2024 under Paul Hurst, scoring from the bench in a 1-1 draw against Brackley Town.

Shrewsbury's under-18s have won eight of their 13 league matches so far this season and are the division's second-highest scorers. They travel to 17th-placed Salford City on Saturday.

Thompson-McKenzie added: "At the start of the season things weren't going as we wanted them to go, but now we have clicked together and are getting big wins. 

"I am enjoying it a lot, I had a rough start to my season with an injury and a loan move, but now I am back with the academy, I feel that I have got my momentum back, I am just trying to build on that.

"The first two or three months was rocky. We have picked up on where we should be. We are going in a good direction, I just want to help the team keep doing that."