Plymouth Argyle have signed defender Joe Riley following his release by fellow League One club Shrewsbury Town, confirmed by BBC Sport.
Right-back Joe Riley, 26, becomes Plymouth Argyle’s fourth free-transfer signing in the past three days, all on undisclosed-length deals.
Derek Adams has already added Everton midfielder Conor Grant, Southend United striker Freddie Ladapo and Rochdale defender Niall Canavan to his squad this summer with Joe Riley joining them.
Riley becomes Adams’ fourth signing of a suddenly busy summer, filling a right-back role vacated by Gary Miller and Oscar Threlkeld’s departures.
Riley made 55 appearances, 10 of them as a substitute, in his two seasons for Shrewsbury, the last of them as a second-half substitute in the League One play-off final defeat against Rotherham United.
Joe started his career at Bolton Wanderers, having been born in nearby Salford, and made nine first-team appearances for the Trotters, including three in the Premier League.
Injuries, including a cruciate knee ligament problem, set Joe back, but he would make 45 appearances in the 2014-15 season; the first 28 for Oxford on loan, then another 17 for Bury, having moved on a permanent basis.
After 57 games for Bury, Shrewsbury would pay an undisclosed fee to take Riley to Shropshire. Somehow, despite separate injuries to his knee, hamstring and wrist, he managed 35 games in 2016-17.
However, he damaged ankle ligaments and broke his fibula in the final game of the season, and although he got fit quickly, he found himself behind fellow full-back James Bolton in the pecking order, and played just 20 times last term.
