Shrewsbury Town are facing increasing pressure from several of their League Two rivals, to try and keep ahold of loan midfielder Tommy McDermott during the January transfer window.
The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Shrewsbury from Premier League outfit Burnley and is due to remain with the club until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
However, his improving performances matches with Shrewsbury’s poor season so far could be a factor for a change in January.
League Two trio target Shrewsbury raid
As reported by journalist Alan Nixon, Shrewsbury Town will have a battle on their hands to try and retain midfielder Tommy McDermott during the upcoming January transfer window.
League Two trio Oldham Athletic, Harrogate Town and Fleetwood Town have all been credited with an ongoing interest in the 20-year-old, ahead of a possible loan move themselves.
As previously mentioned, the midfielder is expected to remain with Shrewsbury for the remainder of the season (contractually), but the January transfer window creates an option for Burnley to pull the plug and loan him elsewhere.
How has he fared so far this season?
After making his debut during the clubs 3-1 loss against Grimsby Town in August, McDermott has gone on to become a key figure for Shrewsbury so far this season.
McDermott has featured 18 times across all competitions for the League Two side so far this season, contributing to four goals in total.
Two of these goal contributions came in League Two.
Which club is more likely to finish the window with McDermott?
Simply put, Shrewsbury may have had a poor season so far, but an upturn in form would see them stand in a strong position to retain their loan star.
Harrogate are desperately in need of reinforcements after a tough campaign so far, but they are in a similar position to Shrewsbury so a move there wouldn’t make a lot of logical sense from a Burnley perspective.
Oldham are 16th currently and pose a strong midfield presence throughout their campaign so far but are on a poor run of form, which currently sees them slipping down the table.
Finally, Fleetwood are the highest ranked side interested in signing the midfielder and are the most likely in that regard to be competing towards the top end of the table.