Plymouth Argyle made the worst possible start to life under new manager Wayne Rooney, as they were hammered 4-0 by Sheffield Wednesday in their opening Championship game.
Since then though, the Pilgrims have made a far better account of themselves, as they defeated League Two Cheltenham Town 3-0 in the EFL Cup, just three days after their heavy defeat to Wednesday.
Rooney’s side then went on to hold Championship play-off hopefuls Hull City to a 1-1 draw at Home Park, before showing real grit and determination to draw with QPR by the same scoreline at Loftus Road on Saturday.
The Pilgrims had an uphill battle on their hands when the R’s took the lead after just three minutes through Michael Frey, but equalised through a Morgan Whittaker screamer on 28 minutes.
However, just one minute after levelling the scores, Argyle found themselves down to 10 men as Adam Forshaw was shown his second yellow card of the afternoon, and dismissed from the field of play.
The away side were then reduced to nine men in second half stoppage time when teenage forward Freddie Issaka was also sent off, but a resolute Pilgrims outfit held on to a 1-1 draw, and earned themselves an unlikely point on the road.
Rooney will be pleased by his team’s efforts on Saturday, but the timing of Whittaker’s wonder-strike may have ironically worked against his favour.
Plymouth Argyle can now expect a surge of transfer interest in Morgan Whittaker
Whittaker is a highly talented individual, who scored 19 goals in the Championship last term, as well as providing eight assists.
| Morgan Whittaker’s 2023/24 Plymouth Argyle Championship Stats – As Per FotMob | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 46 |
| Starts | 45 |
| Pass accuracy % | 74.2 |
| Chances created | 64 |
| Expected assists (xA) | 6.11 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Shots | 167 |
| Shots on target | 64 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 11.0 |
| Goals | 19 |
In fact, only Adam Armstrong, Sammie Szmodics and Crysencio Summerville provided more goal contributions in the second tier than Whittaker last season, and all three of that trio are now plying their trade in the Premier League, which shows just how good the Argyle man is.
Armstrong won promotion to the top-flight with Southampton, while Szmodics’ golden boot haul for Blackburn Rovers earned him a move to Premier League newboys Ipswich Town, whereas Summerville joined West Ham United after losing the Championship play-off final with Leeds United.
Whittaker has attracted high profile transfer interest too, as PlymouthLive revealed back in January that the Pilgrims had rejected a bid from Serie A side Lazio for his services.
The Pilrgims managed to retain their star man during the January transfer window, and he has remained at Home Park during the summer so far too.
But the summer transfer window slams shut at the end of the week, so we are likely to witness a surge of activity in the market in the coming days, which could spell bad news for the Pilgrims when it comes to Whittaker after he gained considerable attention once more over the weekend.
The winger pounced on a loose ball to score a long-range thunderbolt with his left foot on Saturday afternoon, a moment of real quality which will remind potential suitors of his outstanding ability.
While Rooney will be glad that Whittaker has now scored his first goal of the campaign, he may be worried that the ace has shown the best of his ability so close to deadline day.
According to Football Scotland, Scottish Premiership giants Rangers are interested in Whittaker, but he is expected to be too pricey for them this window – their price-tag won’t be as worrying for other top flight clubs that are no doubt going to be interested though.
Plymouth Argyle must hope and pray that Morgan Whittaker sees his future at Home Park
The 23-year-old is at the heartbeat of everything positive the Pilgrims do on the pitch, and made 27 goal contributions in the Championship last term, despite the fact that his side avoided relegation by just one point.
Rooney and co will need Whittaker to remain at Home Park, and find top form once more, as they look to retain their second tier status for the second season running, while the Pilgrims are still searching for their first league victory of the campaign.
That of course though is no guarantee, and the bright lights of Premier League or European football could potentially blind the ex-Derby County man – especially if overtures are made in the final days of the window.
Losing your star man in the late stages of summer is never going to be ideal, and whilst the Home Park hierarchy may have to brace themselves for approaches, Whittaker will need to decide where his future lies if they do come.
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