Arsenal loanee still waiting for 1st start with new manager | OneFootball

Arsenal loanee Charles Sagoe Jr. is still waiting for his first start under new Shrewsbury Town boss Gareth Ainsworth, with the January transfer window fast approaching.

Photo via Sagoe Jr. on Instagram

A little over a month after Gareth Ainsworth’s appointment as Shrewsbury Town’s new manager, Arsenal loanee Charles Sagoe Jr. is still waiting for his first start of the spell.

Sagoe Jr. made the bench against Birmingham City in Ainsworth’s first game, before dropping out of the squad for the next match against Blackpool.

The winger returned to the bench and came on as a substitute for 13 minutes against Cambridge United last weekend, but he was back to being an unused sub against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.

Photo via Shrewsbury on Instagram

The one point in Sagoe Jr.’s favour is that Shrewsbury have not been doing well without him.

With the exception of their ‘new manager bounce’ win over Birmingham, Shrewsbury have lost 2-1 to Blackpool, 4-1 away to Cambridge United (all five goals scored before Sagoe Jr.’s introduction), and 4-1 again to Wycombe.

That last result was the most embarrassing, a limp defeat in front of their own supporters at the New Meadow ground to leave the team bottom of League One. The only consolation was that it was against the league leaders.

Perhaps Ainsworth might look at other options to try and change Shrewsbury’s fortunes, including giving another chance to Sagoe Jr. on the wing. But if not, Arsenal need to be thinking about a January recall.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

Sagoe Jr. signed a season-long loan deal with Shrewsbury, but even before Ainsworth’s arrival he was struggling for games.

Excluding the cup competitions, the 20-year-old has made just three starts in 18 league matches. He’s started all five games across the EFL Trophy, FA Cup, and League Cup, but the team have often used rotated lineups in those competitions.

Shrewsbury are now out of all three competitions, so there will be no further cup minutes on offer to the loanee. With just 13 minutes of on-field League One action since the start of November, the benefits of this loan look increasingly limited.

There are three games remaining for the team in 2024, starting with Wigan Athletic on Saturday, December 21st.