Luca Hoole has approached his League One rivals after rejecting a contract offer from Bristol Rovers

Luca Hoole is set to sign for League One rivals Shrewsbury Town after rejecting a deal at Bristol Rovers, Bristol Live understands.

The Shropshire Star report that Hoole is set to become the club’s sixth addition of the summer, replacing right-backs Tunmise Sobowale and Nana Owusu-Gyimah with the former joining Swindon Town, while the latter remains a free agent following his release.

Hoole was one of three players Rovers offered a new deal at the end of last season, along with Scott Sinclair and Jordan Rossiter. However, with his contract unsigned, with his previous terms expiring on June 30, it looked increasingly unlikely that the right-back would remain in BS7.

Having not featured in the first two weeks of pre-season training at The Quarters, while he was filmed on social media doing his own training session with a personal trainer, Matt Taylor admitted after Saturday’s 1-0 friendly win at Bath City that Rovers effectively succeeded. it went from the 22-year-old.

“The timelapse, I guess, has been and gone in terms of when we expected him to sign a contract, if he was going to sign it,” Taylor said. “So now, in terms of the club’s position, it is what it will be. whether it will go ahead and what the club gets in terms of the potential tribunal.”

A product of the Gas academy, Hoole made 102 first-team appearances, his breakthrough campaign coming in the 2021/22 League 2 promotion season. However, he struggled to start regularly last term under both Matt Taylor and and Joey Barton and looked unlikely to be a frequent starter this campaign with Jack Hunt and new signing Joel Senior his competitors.

Although the right-back is technically a free agent, Rovers will be entitled to compensation from Shrewsbury given Hoole is under 24 and has developed through the club’s youth system. If a figure cannot be agreed between the two clubs, the settlement will be settled by a tribunal.

Salop finished 19th in League One last season and are in desperate need of players after releasing eight at the end of last term, while three others have made new offers to stay, either become free agents or have gone somewhere else. Paul Hurst currently has a squad of just 14 players.