Campbell in, Waine out: The dream start to Plymouth Argyle’s summer transfer window | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle retained their Championship status on the final day with a narrow 1-0 win over Hull City.

“Captain Fantastic” Joe Edwards header against Hull, setting back any play-off hopes that the Tigers had in the process.

The season is done, then, and attention can quickly turn to summer business. After all, Argyle will be on the hunt for a new manager as well as new players to make 2024/25 a success.

Here, we look at one dream arrival and one player Plymouth will hope to move on with little fuss.

In: Tyrese Campbell

Retained lists are being released up and down the EFL at this point in the season and there are one or two surprise decisions being made.

Stoke City choosing to part ways with striker Tyrese Campbell has certainly put some fellow Championship teams on red alert and Plymouth Argyle should be amongst those ready to pounce.

The Potters are now managed by Steven Schumacher and have Luke Cundle in their midfield, so the two clubs have been intertwined, for better or for worse, in the last year, not to mention that they both survived a relegation scrap as well.

A hip injury kept Campbell on the sidelines at the tail-end of 2023, and he previously missed the majority of the 2020/21 campaign due to knee issues.

His injury record has perhaps played a role in Stoke’s decision but when he is fit and firing, he is a very capable forward indeed.

2022/23 was the best season to date for the 24-year-old in front of goal, scoring nine times as well as a further five assists from 41 league outings.

This time around, though, he played less than half of the minutes, and contributed to four goals in his 23 games.

Campbell is still young and is clearly a good player, particularly given the struggles that Stoke have gone through in recent seasons. At times, he has been the shining light.

“Some player man” were the words written underneath a post on X from The EFL Zone, courtesy of Stoke skipper Josh Laurent, potentially offering a peek behind the curtain as to what his now former teammates think of this decision.

Meanwhile, the news has been met with a mixed response from the bet365 faithful - some supporters are sad to see him go, whereas others are understanding, due to the aforementioned injury woes.

Attacking reinforcements are necessary for Argyle whether Morgan Whittaker stays or goes, and the Devonshire side could do a lot worse than taking a punt on Campbell on a free transfer.

Out: Ben Waine

Ben Waine has been on the receiving end of some heavy criticism since he arrived in Devon.

The New Zealand international has looked lightweight at times and unsure of what to do, perhaps suggesting that promotion to the Championship came at a bad time for him as an individual.

At the same time, Waine is just 22 years of age and there have been some hugely positive signs in the last month or two.

A hunger and desire to chase down every ball, and to lead the press from the front has endeared him more to the fans at the very least.

Two goals and an assist at the end of 2023 is the totality of his goal contributions, but the signs of things to come from Waine go way beyond any quantifiable metric.

A loan move to a lower level, where he can start the majority of games and get a feel for regularly finding the back of the net again, would be beneficial for all parties.

Waine is still very young and there is plenty of time to improve going forward. Home Park just may not be the correct destination for that at this point in time.

Ryan Hardie struggled in front of goal in the last few months of the season and the Pilgrims are in need of a more astute backup to the Scotsman, adding fuel to the fire when it comes to a potential pursuit of Tyrese Campbell. Waine can certainly be that man one day, but he requires more development right now.

In this dreaded relegation battle, the Kiwi forward has shown a lot of heart to fight for the cause, so a more-rounded player is certainly on the horizon if he gets himself a loan move.