Brad Friedel sets out global recruitment plan after Shrewsbury takeover

Brad Friedel has outlined plans to expand Shrewsbury Town’s recruitment network and take a daily role alongside head coach Gavin Cowan following the club’s takeover. In an interview with BBC Radio Shropshire, the new sporting director said a recruitment department was already operating, with the League Two club preparing to look for players in markets it had not previously explored.

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Scott Davidson’s Biscayne ST LLC consortium completed its purchase of 87.4% of Shrewsbury’s shares on Monday, allowing long-serving owner Roland Wycherley to hand over control, BBC Sport reported. Friedel is part of the consortium. He said he and Davidson had considered clubs in Turkey, Poland, Portugal and the Netherlands before deciding their group was better suited to the British market. Davidson is already a majority shareholder in Edinburgh-based The Spartans.

Friedel said Shrewsbury’s position as a one-club town was a major attraction, alongside the group’s assessment of what it could contribute to both the football club and its community. Strengthening that relationship is among the owners’ stated priorities. Wycherley first announced plans to find a successor five years ago, according to the BBC report, which described the new owners’ ambitions as extending beyond results on the pitch.

On recruitment, Friedel said the club would use a customised data platform to accelerate its work, while stressing that statistics alone would not determine whether a player was signed. Additional people would be brought into the process, with Cowan involved in identifying players from a broader international pool. Friedel also said he would relocate, attend training every day and work closely with the head coach rather than make occasional visits.

Cowan, a former Shrewsbury player, took charge in January and helped the club avoid relegation to the National League. Shrewsbury finished last season 10 points above the relegation places and are currently 15th, the BBC reported. This is their second season in League Two after a 10-season spell in League One ended in 2025. The club last played in the second tier in 1989.

Friedel said the immediate priorities were stability, a clear organisational structure and adequate resources for the first team and academy. He wants Shrewsbury to become promotion contenders this season or next, but presented further progress as a step-by-step ambition rather than a guaranteed outcome. Any eventual push towards the Championship would depend first on establishing the foundations and securing promotion from League Two.