We asked a Cheltenham Town expert about Shrewsbury Town’s new signing

Arkell Jude-Boyd became Shrewsbury Town’s first signing of the summer - but what can supporters expect from the defender?

Jude-Boyd arrives from Cheltenham Town, where he made 57 League Two starts and a further four appearances from the bench.

Few people are better placed to provide an insight into the 23-year-old than Gloucestershire Live reporter Jon Palmer, who saw Jude-Boyd week in, week out for the Robins during his time at the club.

The Shropshire Star caught up with Palmer to discuss the wide defender’s spell at Cheltenham and what Salop supporters can expect from their new signing.

How do you assess Jude-Boyd’s time at Cheltenham Town?

He was one of Cheltenham's more prominent players during his first season at the club. But last season, he probably wasn't able to quite kick on as he would have liked.

Although he still played quite a few games last season, there were times when he was in and out of the team.

My own view is that he's more suited to wing-back than right-back. His strength is going forward rather than defensively.

Michael Flynn quite often used a back three with Jude-Boyd at wing back. Under Steve Cotterill it was very much 4-3-3.

It became evident that he probably wasn't going to be part of the long-term plans. But he certainly wasn't poor in his second season, he just didn't quite live up to what he did in his first season when he was really exciting.

Is wing-back his best position?

He’s definitely tailor-made to play right wing-back. He likes to have space to run into.

He's at his best with the game in front of him, charging down the right flank, that's when he played his best football in his first season.

I'm certainly not saying that he can't play right back in a four. But with the pace he's got, the ability, some trickery, energy, he can get up and down, he's certainly better going forward than he is pure defensively, so I think that really will suit him.

What are his strengths and weaknesses defensively?

He's got the ability to get himself out of trouble with pace, which is a real advantage, so he can cover a lot of ground.

He's probably been one of Cheltenham's quickest players over the last two seasons, if not their quickest.

I would say he could definitely improve in terms of one-on-one defending in his positional play, but a lot of times his speed will get him out of trouble. If Shrewsbury get him firing going forward the other way, he's going to cause teams a lot of problems.

He's not the type of player that could sit in and go right centre-back or anything like that.

He can do a man-to-man job on somebody because of his pace, and he'll stick to somebody like glue, but I think he's at his best when he's got licence to attack.

In the 2024/25 season, around the build-up to Christmas, he really was on fire and there were teams, bigger clubs, looking at him.

What can he offer going forward?

If they work the ball to him in the final third and he gets to run at players one-on-one, then he's going to terrify defenders. His pace is electric.

His first goal for Cheltenham at Chesterfield had a lot to do with pace. He rounded the goalkeeper outside of the penalty area and slotted it into the net, but as he struck the ball, he did his hamstring, so it was a bit of a strange moment.

Then he came back and he scored a brilliant goal against Morecambe, where he sort of juggled the ball near the touchline over a defender's head, and then smashed it into the net. That was one of the goals of the season.

He's got that ability to conjure a bit of magic out of nothing.

How is his injury record?

No, he's been pretty consistently available. He healed really well from that hamstring injury.

Originally it was expected he'd be out for two or three months, but he was back ahead of schedule, and he was available for the vast majority of last season.

He's not a player you've got to worry about discipline. He conducts himself well on the pitch.

I'd definitely give him a good reference character-wise. I certainly wouldn't describe him as injury-prone

Can he take the next step at Shrewsbury?

He's only two years into his Football League career, he's got more than 50 starts in those two seasons, so he's got a nice amount of experience.

He is somebody that will listen and learn, I think he's got potential to keep improving.

Cheltenham fans really enjoyed watching him play, particularly in his first season, he'd get the fans on the edge of their seat.

When it was announced that he was going, I knew he'd get another League Two club, at least. I think a new start will do him good. Every Cheltenham fan will wish him well.

Thanks to Gloucestershire Live reporter Jon Palmer for his time and insight.