Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst hopes to have uncovered gem in Arthur Gnahoua
Paul Hurst hopes to have uncovered a non-league gem as Shrewsbury Town made Arthur Gnahoua their first signing of the summer.
The six ft two ins forward checked in from Kidderminster Harriers on a one-year contract with the option to take up a second.
He was Harriers' top scorer in National League North last season and netted 13 goals in all competitions.
The Town boss has stated that Shrewsbury may find themselves having to look for 'left field' signings further down the pyramid, and hopes 24-year-old Gnahoua can continue the trend of non-league starlets making the grade.
Shrewsbury landed the forward on a free contract with former Macclesfield man Gnahoua out of contract at Harriers, where he had been offered fresh terms.
“Our recruitment won’t just be about players that have played League One or higher," said Hurst.
“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.
“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.
"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.”
Gnahoua, of French and Ivory Coast descent, can play as a left-sided winger, a central striker or as a deeper attacker.
He spent 16 months at professional non-league outfit Harriers, who finished second last season but crashed out of the play-off semi-finals – despite Gnahoua scoring a wondergoal.
Aggborough boss John Eustace said on the departed striker: "He was the best player in our league last season and he deserves his chance to step up.
"He's has been magnificent and once Shrewsbury came in there was no way we could hold him back."
