Gareth Ainsworth praises ex-Shrewsbury winger after his fantastic start at Blackpool

The 21-year-old, who played more than 100 times for Salop in the third tier of English football, joined Blackpool more than two weeks ago. 

Since the youngster switched to the Seaside, at the time of writing, Bloxham has registered two assists for Steve Bruce's side, and he scored a superb first goal for the Tangerines in their win at Exeter on Saturday. 

Town have missed the direct and pacey winger since his departure - who performed so well after Ainsworth arrived in Shropshire. 

The Salop head coach was asked by the Shropshire Star if Shrewsbury are now looking to add that sprinkling of quality to their team to replace Bloxham.

"Tom was a great player, a real good player," Ainsworth replied. "It is my job now to replace him, which is tough. But it's something that we're putting our minds to now.

"He is a miss, but we are going to try and see what we can get out of the window.

"We may have to wait for a chain reaction somewhere. There's more Tom Bloxham's out there.

"I'm so proud of him, seeing him now flying at Blackpool. He has really opened his wings.

"Especially playing in a system that really suits him."

Shrewsbury have made three signings in the January transfer window so far - Callum Stewart, Dominic Gape and Ricardo Dinanga have all arrived from non-league. 

The transfer deadline is February 3, and Ainsworth is hoping he can bring in a future star to strengthen Salop for the remainder of the season. 

"But it is about us, right? The next Tom Bloxham, who is it, where is it? Can we get him?

"And if not, we will get the next best one to him, and that is how it works. Hopefully, we can fall on a diamond.

"I've got Callum (Stewart) and Ricardo (Dinanga) in at the moment. You never know. One of those could be an absolute star, you know, and they're both looking good in training.

"It's a big step, but we've all done it, you know, and we've all seen it happen. So fingers crossed we can get the next one."