Teenager hailed for ‘excellent’ first Shrewsbury Town start

Kian McMahon-Brown was handed a big thumbs-up after making his first Shrewsbury Town start.

The 18-year-old loanee impressed boss Gavin Cowan in the number 10 role despite another difficult afternoon for Salop at Fleetwood Town on Saturday.

McMahon-Brown, who joined from Burnley a day before the transfer window closed, was praised by Cowan alongside fellow loanees Michael Golding and Lino Sousa.

“I’m really pleased with him,” Cowan said of the teenager.

“He’s one that we brought in late. Obviously, when we were unable to get a couple of experienced ones, it was one that we needed to, and we’re really grateful to Burnley for allowing that.

“When you can’t get the ones that are right there in front of you, it’s difficult. But equally when you bring in and you see the talent that he is today, it’s an unbelievable bit of business. He couldn’t be any better, really.

“But I think they all do well. They’ve brought some fresh quality into the group, a bit of fearlessness. They’ve got a point to prove.

“They can come and do well for us and then go back to their parent clubs and kick on.”

This is McMahon-Brown’s first loan spell. He impressed at youth level with Burnley and was named their academy player of the year last season after a prolific campaign in front of goal.

Shrewsbury will hope he can carry that scoring touch into the first team and help turn around their difficult start.

McMahon-Brown is one of several youngsters in Cowan’s squad, something the Town boss was keen to highlight.

The Salop chief continued: “I just thought he was excellent today. I thought he was brave, he was creative. I would like him to be even more direct.

“But I think for his first start at 18 years old, another thing we’ve got to remember, we’ve got a 17-year-old in there, 18-year-old in there, 20-year-old comes on.

“We’ve got a very young,new group. So, they’re learning all the time. I think that experience for him today will allow him to go on and kick on and be better in future games.”