Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Hurst is delighted to get his first summer signing under his belt in Arthur Gnahoua.
Arthur, a forward, joins from Kidderminster Harriers on a one year deal with the option of a second.
“I’m pleased to get him in”, Paul told ShrewsWeb.
“He’s a player that we’ve watched quite a few times. He’s got plenty of attacking ability and one that we feel is worth exploring further and hopefully he can make the step up as quickly as possible.
“I think there’s enough players now that have made that step up. Not everyone can do it, but we believe his actual football ability is certainly good enough to make the step, it’s just some of the other things like fitness issues that we’ve got to address quickly.
“I think he’s quite a fit lad, but the physical demands will be different, albeit Kidderminster are full-time so that’s a positive from our point of view.
“Also, the mental side. One of the conversations we had was about him believing in his ability and thinking that he can step up.
“So, that is what we will be working on when we get him back in, but I’m pleased to have him on board.”
Town will be Arthur’s first spell in League One, but Paul is hopeful he has uncovered a talent from lower down the football pyramid.
“Our recruitment won’t just be about players that have played League One or higher”, Hurst said.
“We have been searching lower down the pyramid and Arthur’s one that we feel can make that jump. I think the position that we are in we’ve got to try and do that and maybe get one or two lads that aren’t on everyone’s radar.
“I think there was maybe some other interest in him, but at the same time we’ve got to try and unearth some lads from left field and hopefully in Arthur’s case we have done that.
“Like I’ve said, we are confident in his ability. There are just a lot of other things that come with being successful at league level, but we will try and help him along with those.”
Arthur will be stepping up three levels when he joins Town and Paul is willing to give him time to adjust to the Football League.
“If it takes a little bit of time for him to settle in then we are aware that that could be the case”, Paul said.
“You want him to come in and prove himself, but at the same time he’s on a par with everyone else in that squad. He’ll be in a squad full of players that are all competing to be in the first team right from the word go.
“That’s where preseason comes in and it’s about impressing to try and force your way into that starting line-up for the first game of the season and Arthur is no different.
“I’m not going to put a definite timescale on it because I’m conscious that some players take a little bit more time to adjust, whilst others take to it straight away and everyone would be delighted if he could do that.”