Chester loan stint proving a Shrewd move for Shrewsbury's Charlie Caton
Charlie Caton is gaining valuable experience from his loan spell with Chester – according to Shrewsbury Town first-team coach David Longwell.
The 20-year-old initially joined the Cheshire club on a one-month loan back in November.
But after a successful start, Caton’s loan was extended by another month to January 21, and on the completion of that Shrewsbury confirmed he will now stay with the club until the end of the season.
The youngster has played 12 times in his spell so far, 10 times in the National League North and twice in the FA Trophy – registering two goals and five assists so far with the Seals.
Delighted
And Longwell, who works with the academy as well as being the club’s first-team coach, has been following Caton’s progress.
He said: “I speak to him on the semi-regularly to make sure he is ok and stuff like that, and he was really keen to extend his loan just because he was getting games. And I think that if I look at when they played Telford there were about 3,500 people there so it is invaluable to have that and play in front of people week in and week out.
“It is a tough league, you know, for us it is a great development tool for him and we think he is getting a lot from it, the manager has spoken to me a few times and is delighted with him.
“There is a lot of communication there because it is important when you put somebody out on loan that there is still that contact.”
Town used the EFL Trophy as an opportunity to give their young players some game time this year, and Caton was one of those who benefitted from that.
He played all three games in the competition, while also making an appearance in the league against Ipswich, as well as the Carabao Cup, so this next step is an important part of his journey.
And Longwell says he is a really good character and the feedback they have had from Chester has been really positive.
He said: “First and foremost, Charlie is a great kid.
“He is such a hard-working young person, and it is funny that when he was going out to Chester the manager was saying what type of boy is he? I said, ‘look he will give you no problems’, and the feedback from a general point of view has been so positive about him.
“I get the stuff on Wyscout so I can watch it back, but we have also sent different scouts out to watch him so we do have a constant reporting mechanism so we can see how he is getting on.”
