Matt Maher Shrewsbury Update: Ryan Woods exit

The 21-year-old has moved to Griffin Park in a club record deal which is likely to top £1million and includes a significant sell-on clause.

Williams insists Town had no desire to sell Woods, but simply received an offer they couldn't refuse.

"We always want to retain our best players but at times it becomes increasingly difficult, particularly when you put a valuation on a player which gets met," he said.

"The deal we have got for Ryan is a fantastic one for Shrewsbury Town, in terms of what it means for the club, not just now but in the future."

Williams revealed negotiations with the Championship club had been ongoing since the middle of last week, adding: "The deal we have ended up getting was more than double their first offer.

"We are sad to see Ryan go but sometimes players go before you want them to.

"There is no way we were going to get him to sign a new contract and would probably have lost him for nothing next summer.

"Ryan has conducted himself fantastically. Anyone who was at the Meadow on Saturday saw what this club means to him. We are gutted to lose him but from a business perspective we are satisfied."

Town, who also loaned full-back Mickey Demetriou to Cambridge United, were able to sign Fulham midfielder Larnell Cole on loan until January.

Williams revealed the club, who also sold Connor Goldson to Brighton in a deal worth £600,000 last month, had offers for two other players accepted but were unable to get the deals done.

"We have a plan of how we want to keep moving things forward," he added.

"Our manager Micky Mellon is very astute.

"Larnell is the kind of player we are missing. We needed a bit of pace in the midfield and he has that."