Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough has revealed that he has had his eye on Conor Shaughnessy for some time, after snapping him up on loan from Leeds United, and is looking to hand the defender regular game time.
The 23-year-old secured his second loan spell of the season when he moved to the League One side on Monday, on a deal running until the end of the campaign.
Clough took time to praise his new signing and revealed he has been tracking Shaughnessy's progress for some time, with there having been an opportunity for him to arrive in the summer.
The Burton boss was impressed with Shaughnessy's performance in the EFL Trophy in November when Mansfield Town came away 2-1 winners against his side.
“He’ll bring versatility – he can play a number of positions”, Clough told his club's official site while describing his new signing.
"But we've not just brought him in purely for cover, he'll be starting games.
“He can play across the back four or in the holding midfield role, so he covers a number of positions. He’s got good experience, playing in the Scottish Premiership for Hearts and had half a season at Mansfield.
“We nearly took him in the summer but he went to Mansfield and played quite a few games, including one quite well against us here and we’ve managed to secure him for the rest of the season.
Shaughnessy is not able to slot straight into Burton action due to an injury, but Clough is confident it is nothing serious.
“He’s got a slight hamstring problem at the moment, but he should be fit for Accrington in 10 days’ time.”
Shaughnessy is out of favour at Leeds under head coach Marcelo Bielsa and will be looking to make a positive impression during his spell at Burton to give himself options in the summer.
