Shrewsbury Town in contract talks with key man as boss insists 'more to come'

Gavin Cowan insists Luca Hoole’s future should be at Shrewsbury Town - amid ongoing contract talks with the defender.

The 23-year-old full back was signed by Salop back in 2024 from Bristol Rovers - and has gone on to play more than 80 games for the club.

Hoole picked up players’ player and player of the season at the Salop end of season awards ceremony this week.

And he has been a key part of Cowan’s side since he arrived at the club in January.

Amid discussions with players regarding their futures - Cowan explained that a number of conversations have already taken place.

And on Hoole, he stated that the club are in contract talks with the younger defender with the hope of pinning him down for the future.

The Salop boss believes Hoole’s future should be at Shrewsbury.

He said: “Yeah, we're already in talks.

“I think, you know, we recognise that Luca is, you know, relatively young still. I feel like he's got a lot of improvement to do still, but it can really affect the group. I think he's got a bright future.

“That future, I feel, is right here. I think he needs to be playing more games to get that consistency in his game. I think prior to us coming in, he probably didn't have that.

“And then he obviously got injured after sort of eight or nine games. So, we still, we know there's more to come from him.

“We feel like, you know, he can be here at this level playing games and we can bounce him to maybe another couple of levels.”

“But, for the here and now, he's certainly one that we're talking to, yeah.”

The defender is one of a number of players who are either out of contract or will return to their parent clubs following the conclusion of loan deals.

The only player so far confirmed to be leaving the club is Mal Benning - whose departure was announced prior to last week’s game with Fleetwood.

Cowan explained news on retained players will come soon - and when asked about how confident he was of getting a deal done early for Hoole, the Salop boss said: “Well, it'll take a bit of time because obviously they're out of contract and, you know, they want to have a little look around themselves.

“But, look, we can only put our best foot forward.”