Bristol City defender Taylor Moore has joined League One Shrewsbury on loan until the end of the season joining former Robins boss Steve Cotterill.
The 25-year-old returned to Ashton Gate this summer in search of a new club following his temporary spell with Hearts last season where he made 18 Premiership appearances.
Moore, who fell out of the reckoning following Nigel Pearson's arrival in February 2021, has yet to see a single minute of Championship action under the manager. His move to Shrewsbury is his sixth loan spell since arriving to BS3 in 2016.
His only appearance under Pearson came in the Carabao Cup penalty shootout defeat to Forest Green Rovers 11 months ago and he wasn't included in the first five Championship squads of the season before heading north to Scotland.
Moore joined City from Lens in 2016 after Cotterill's departure when Lee Johnson was appointed manager and he went on to make 59 appearances for the Robins in total. In 2020, he penned a new three-year contract until 2023 with the option of an extra year.
Pearson had the option of recalling him from his loan spell in January and despite City's defensive record and concussion to Nathan Baker, the manager said he hadn't spoken to him and he "didn't feel the need to recall him."
A U-turn by Pearson to integrate him back into the first-team reckoning was always highly unlikely despite Moore heading to Austria as part of City's pre-season training camp. In April, he spoke to The Edinburgh Evening News where he all-but confirmed he would be looking for a new challenge come the summer.
He said: "Where do I see myself next season? Do Bristol City need me or not? There are a lot of questions.
"Sometimes it’s quite difficult as a player coming towards the end of a season and you don’t know your next step. I’m 25 in May. I’m old enough and ugly enough to understand that sometimes you need to move on and close a chapter."
It's not the first time Cotterill has returned to his former club to sign players. He signed George Nurse on a permanent deal 12 months ago and also landed Saikou Janneh on loan with the latter recently completing a permanent switch to Cambridge.
Shrewsbury ended last season in 18th but Cotterill has been busy in the transfer market in an attempt to improve that record with Moor becoming their sixth signing of the window.
Pearson remains in the market for at least one new central defender before the season gets underway on July 30. The arrival of Kal Naismith from Luton has provided competition while Timm Klose's new deal proved two pieces of welcome business for the manager.
However, Robbie Cundy opted against signing a new contract to join Barnsley while Pearson suggested Baker is unlikely to feature this season. Zak Vyner is also up for sale while decisions are expected to be made on both Ryley Towler and Duncan Idehen regarding potential loan moves.
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