Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Hurst says Harrison Biggins' move to Carlisle United has come "out of the blue".
The midfielder only joined the League One club in the summer - but has now left for Brunton Park on a season-long loan.
Hurst said other signings were ahead of the 28-year-old in the pecking order and he was prepared to let him leave once Carlisle expressed their interest.
"It's something that's come very out of the blue in truth," Hurst told the Shrews' website.
"With some of the players we've brought in recently and looking at the whole picture, we felt that Harrison's starting options looked like they were going to be difficult to come by.
"We had a call from Carlisle expressing their interest so I had a conversation with Harrison.
"He's still our player and certainly could have stayed if he wanted to, but he may not feel he's had the best start to his Shrewsbury career and I cannot criticise a player who wants to go and play games.
"We shook hands and I wish him well.
"He's still our player and we'll be monitoring him closely and seeing how he gets on."
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