There’s something special about watching a born and bred Salopian step onto the Croud Meadow pitch in Shrewsbury Town colours.
In a long list of local lads to play for Town, Jack Price became the latest to strut his stuff in blue and amber when he entered the fray against Carlisle United in March.
“The best moment of my career? Playing for Shrewsbury, for my local team, by far,” said the former Sundorne School pupil.
“Winning League One with Wolves was great, but my Shrewsbury debut felt different with the reception, my family were all here; it was special,” he smiled.
"Shrewsbury is my team. My sister used to bring me down to the Gay Meadow when I was a kid.
"It's always extra special when it's your hometown club.
"It was special for me and my family. My dad wasn't there unfortunately, he was working, but apart from that everyone was at the game and I got a great reception. I'm really proud.
“I had a few tickets for the Carlisle game that I'd asked for and it felt nice to have my lad and my girl there.”
'Pricey' then netted his first goal in almost exactly six years when he volleyed home Town's equaliser against Oxford in our last home match.
“It was a nice feeling but I didn’t know how to celebrate, to be honest. I don’t score many!" He said with a smile.
“I was going to knee slide but I thought better of it.
“It wasn’t the cleanest of strikes but it doesn’t really matter, does it?
“I think the turf helped me a little bit, it skidded a bit but it was nice to see it go in.
“The best feeling you get in football is scoring goals and, like I say, I don’t get many of them so I treasure them when I do.
“Scoring for my hometown club was special and it was a big goal for the lads who put an absolute shift in that day."
The midfielder was also full of praise for his new gaffer, Paul Hurst, and he revealed this season isn’t the first time he’s been close to signing for Salop.
“The gaffer has been great with me!
“When I spoke to him, he was open and told me to prove my fitness, prove I can get back training and then we’d see what we can do.
“I knew him when I was at Wolves and we played Shrewsbury a couple of times. There’s that photo that’s going around which is mad, it’s like eight years old, I think!
“I was close to maybe coming here that time when he was last here.
Jack came through Wolves’ academy and would go on to win League One with them in 2014. He also racked up 115 appearances, scoring twice and assisting on four occasions.
However, in January 2018, the then 25-year-old made the unique switch across the pond to join the ranks of Colorado Rapids in the United States of America.
"I was there for six years,” Pricey explained. "I probably had four and a half or five good years. The last year with my injury was obviously tough, but yeah, I loved it.
"The lifestyle, football, playing against some amazing players; it's just a different experience of playing football.”
The Rapids topped the Western Conference for the first time in their history in 2021, with Jack playing 30 of their 34 league games and contributing 12 assists.
He officially left the club in October last year with an incredible 130 club appearances to his name and the accolade of being the Rapids’ second-highest assist provider ever.
A hugely popular figure in Colorado, unfortunately Jack didn't get the positive ending to his time in the States that anybody had hoped for as he suffered a serious Achilles injury on March 19, 2023. He had played just 37 minutes of the 2023 MLS campaign.
"Yeah, it's not been good,” Pricey admitted when asked about his injury.
"The first six months were hard. You doubt if you're going to come back from an injury like that.
“You push yourself as much as you can and you have good days and bad days.
"It was tough.”
Fortunately for Jack, he has had great support throughout his recovery.
“The staff back in Colorado were great with me in the first six months and then ever since I’ve been back, Skitty (Chris Skitt, Town's head of medical performance) has been brilliant with me too.
"Shrewsbury as a club have been good with me as well. Hopefully I can be good to them and repay them.
"I'm close to full fitness but still not quite there.
"They've been great with me. I've been doing my rehab and the timing has worked out quite well."
While he’s only signed on until the end of the current campaign as it stands, Pricey is hopeful of earning a longer contract that will see him feature in home colours for a bit longer.
“Hopefully I play here for a few years!” He said enthusiastically.
“For now, it’s short-term until the end of the season. Hopefully I can prove myself and prove my fitness.
“It’s down to my body and the club. I hope it all comes together in the summer, but we’ll see."
Having spent the whole season in and out of our Sundorne training ground doing his recovery, Jack has enjoyed getting to know the lads and being a part of things during the week.
And now he’s put pen to paper at Salop, the 31-year-old has had one of the easiest transitions into a dressing room any player could hope for.
"I've been in and out since the summer with Skitty, so since the start of the season I've been in most days, and then for the last three weeks or so, I've been in every day.
"Becoming a full-time member of the squad, if you like, was an easy transition. The lads are great and have been great – I was just looking forward to getting that moment out on the pitch with them.
"We've just got to keep going, get as many points as we can and not even worry about what's behind us or below us.
"We just have to keep playing how we're playing and hopefully keep getting points."
