Tom Shaw has made a shock departure from Chester and signed a permanent 18-month deal with Tamworth.

The 31-year-old made 106 appearances, scoring 12 times, since joining the Blues back in 2015 from Alfreton Town, but has opted to make the switch to Tamworth after being offered an 18-month deal with the National League North outfit.

The Lambs are currently 11th in the tier below Chester and are managed by former Wrexham player/manager Andy Morrell, with the move partly influenced by Shaw’s commitments to his role at Nottingham Trent University and the Blues’ switch to full-time training.

Shaw overcame a tricky first season at Chester to become established as a firm fans’ favourite over the past 18 months, and began the current campaign as assisant player/manager to former boss Jon McCarthy.

Shaw took over as caretaker manager for three matches following McCarthy’s departure but had recently been reinstalled into central midfielder by Marcus Bignot, making 15 appearances this term in all competitions.

Chester are continuing with their attempts to get an extended loan deal for Reece Hall-Johnson over the line ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Gateshead.