Matt Taylor reveals main reason Shrewsbury Town have introduced young starlets into first-team squad

The duo have been heavily involved in recent weeks, with Loughran making an appearance in the FA Cup victory over Notts County.

As with lots of the club's young players they have found themselves training with the first team of late and it is their attitude during that which has got them on the bench, according to the head coach Taylor.

He said: "We have both Jack and Luca training with us at the moment, the pair of them have been in the squad.

"They have been in the squad because when they have come up to train with us their attitude and their application before any technical side of the game has been excellent.

"Jack is a tenacious player, I watch him in training with the first team and he does not give an inch, and I love that about him.

"His attitude is exceptional. And that is a testament to the academy staff, who before him coming up to the training ground with us a few weeks ago have been working with him every day.

"Jack is a player who is at the start of his development if you like.

"What I have really liked about the pair of them is that they played for under-17s recently and then were on the bench for us.

"There is no 'why am I playing in this game if I am now training with the first team?'

"The attitude and application has been excellent, of course, there are other boys within the academy who are getting closer to being involved with us."

The club have produced several academy talents in recent times.

Tom Bloxham, who is currently on loan at Morecambe, is one, and Travis Hernes who left for Premier League side Newcastle United is another to come through the ranks.

And Taylor says there is a lot of communication between the first-team staff and the academy staff.

"The one thing we do here as a football club really well is we have constant dialogue with the academy staff.

"It is not just a case of players coming up train because we need a right back, they have to really earn it, and that is the way we are going down.

"I am a firm believer that we cannot, and we won't just have youth team players here to make the numbers up.

"What we will do, we will 100 per cent help in terms of their development. It is not just a come with us and you don't get coached and you don't learn.

"It can be challenging as we are not always at the same site, but what we can do is we can communicate with each other and make sure the players that are here are continuing to develop and are not just becoming a number.

"Having worked in youth football, I understand how important those formative years are for our young players.

"There are some good players coming through this system and it is a testament to the work that David (Longwell) did - he has obviously gone to Burnley.

"Those two boys stand out, they stand out because every single day they come here, they are humble, they behave in the correct manner they train at the intensity which cannot be replicated at under-18 level and we are really fortunate to have a thriving academy."