Shrewsbury Town new boy Max Mata gunning for goals after sealing move

The striker completed his switch to the Croud Meadow on Thursday, signing a three-year deal in Shropshire.

It is currently mid-season in the Irish Premier League, and the 23-year-old has had a fruitful season in front of goal scoring 11 goals in his 23 appearances.

And that is something he is hoping to do at his new club in League One, he said: “I like scoring goals and I think that’s probably it.

“In terms of my physical attributes, I’m not the fastest player in the world but I’m quick, strong, sharp and I like the box.

“For me it is mid-season and I’m lucky that I’m fit and healthy and it’s just a matter of breaking into the team, getting to know the lads, getting comfortable and hopefully starting to score goals as soon as possible.”

There was a lot of interest in Mata, who has made several international appearances for his native New Zealand, and Salop have secured his signature ahead of the new season which gets under way against Cheltenham this weekend.

“I think it was the fact they came and showed a lot of interest,” he continued about why signed for the club. “They pretty much made me feel comfortable through the process and I was really excited and looking forward to coming to the club.”

With Aiden O’Brien joining Sutton United on loan until January earlier this week – signing a striker was vital for Town.

Ryan Bowman and Dan Udoh are the only two senior forwards in the squad so the signing of Mata was an important one.

And Town boss Matt Taylor was impressed with his footballing intelligence after going to watch him in Ireland.

He said: “Max was a player we’ve spoken about for the past three weeks and I went over to Ireland to watch him. We’d like to thank the chairman for facilitating that and Max’s transfer over from Ireland. I was very impressed with what I saw. He has exceptional footballing intelligence, scores a variation of goals, is hungry to fulfil his potential and we fought off a host of other clubs to get him.

“I’m excited for the fans to see him in a Shrewsbury Town shirt. He is of course very talented but more importantly, he’s the right type of person to fit within the group.”

Mata will be available when his visa comes through.