Shrewsbury thwarted in Bolton loan bid
Shrewsbury Town boss Graham Turner's efforts to boost his squad with a second loan signing have been thwarted after the prospect he lined up suffered a serious injury.
The Town manager was awaiting the arrival of the youngster, understood to be Bolton right-back Joe Riley, before he limped out of a pre-season outing last week.
Wanderers' first team provided the opposition for Town's latest warm-up – an entertaining 3-3 draw at the Greenhous Meadow on Saturday.
And Turner hopes he can continue to forge a good relationship with the Lancashire club so they will be prepared to loan out more of their up-and-coming players.
Striker Tom Eaves proved to be such a hit with Salop towards the close of last season after his arrival from the Reebok Stadium.
Turner said: "We try to build up a relationship with clubs such as Bolton who are going to have one or two players they are going to let out on loan.
"I know Lennie Lawrence, Bolton's assistant manager, and he knows we do it right here in terms of discipline and organisation.
"I think that is why they were prepared to let Tom come here. We did have a player lined up from Bolton. It's not Tom Eaves.
"But, unfortunately, it look like he's now got a serious ligament injury."
The Town boss has already taken Akwasi Asante on loan from Birmingham and the striker was on target along with latest recruit, John Marsden, in the weekend draw.
Turner may yet be prepared to consider the young duo as a potential strike partnership, although he is continuing his search for a more experienced front-man.
The Town chief said: "The signs I have seen from both players and, to some extent, from Tom Bradshaw shows we have got players up front who are capable of going in there and performing.
"John was at Celtic as a 16-year-old and to go up to Glasgow to such a big club isn't easy. He probably lost his way, but he came with a high recommendation from Peter Withe, his manager at Stockport Sports.
"We have had him with us for a couple of weeks and he's shown he can score every day in training. With full-time training and playing at our level, he will get better."