Shrewsbury sign Luton striker Gbode on loan

Shrewsbury Town make their seventh signing of the summer with a season-long loan deal for Luton Town striker Joe Gbode.

Shrewsbury Town have signed striker Joe Gbode on a season-long loan from Luton Town. The 21-year-old started at Gillingham and made 58 appearances for the first team before moving to the Hatters for an undisclosed fee last summer. He made five appearances from the bench last season before joining National League side Woking on loan for the second half of the campaign, where he scored four goals in 16 games in all competitions.

Gbode's arrival continues Salop's busy summer window with the number of new signings now at seven following deals for Arkell Jude-Boyd, Byron Pendleton, Isaac Fletcher, Jack Price, Jay Turner-Cooke and Josh Davison. Town boss Gavin Cowan highlighted Gbode's pace, taking on defenders, goalscoring ability and his attitude. "He's not a National League player – he's an EFL player – but he showed a fantastic mindset by doing whatever it took to keep playing and continue his development," Cowan told the club website.

"He's still only 21 and is a striker with enormous potential." Cowan said there was "still work to do" on shaping his squad for the new season but suggested he will have to make room in order to bring anyone else in. "We've done the vast majority of our business early, which was important to us, although there's still work to do," he said.

"We may need a bit of movement in the other direction before we can bring more players in, but we're working hard behind the scenes to identify the right targets."