"Further afield" - Plymouth Argyle tipped to look beyond Bolton Wanderers deal | OneFootball

The Pilgrims are said to be interested in the Bolton Wanderers man after Michael Cooper's departure for Sheffield United

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Michael Cooper has finally completed his move from Plymouth Argyle to Sheffield United, with the Pilgrims receiving a sum that could rise to a club-record fee ever received for a player.

The Greens are set to be paid £2 million up front, with a further £2 million in add-ons in the future, as their academy graduate departs for Bramall Lane after 161 matches for the club.

As a result, Argyle will now be desperately trying to find a replacement for the 24-year-old, who has earned a reputation as one of the brightest prospects in the EFL with his performances between the sticks at Home Park.

One name that has already cropped up on the list of replacements is Nathan Baxter of Bolton Wanderers, but Football League World’s Argyle fan pundit Chris believes the club will be following a tried and trusted method in recruiting their new gloveman and won't be focusing on the Trotters man.

Plymouth Argyle will be looking further afield with data-driven recruitment strategy

Argyle have earned a reputation of late for sticking to the numbers when it comes to bringing new additions into the squad, and more often than not that approach has come up trumps.

This summer, it has seen them turn to options across the continent in the hope of finding some hidden gems in Europe, with four new signings coming from outside of the UK.

With Muhamed Tijani joining from Slavia Prague, Ibrahim Cissoko from Toulouse, Victor Palsson from Eupen in Belgium, and Kornel Szucs from Kecskemet in Hungary, there is an all-round more cosmopolitan feel in the Argyle squad of late.

And as a result, Chris believes the Pilgrims will be following that trend when it comes to their new number one, with Baxter likely to command a hefty fee to release him from the Trotters.

FLW's Argyle fan pundit said: “With Michael Cooper’s transfer for £2 million, plus an extra £2 million in add-on fees, Wayne Rooney has already quickly come out and stated that Argyle are looking for a new goalkeeper to compete with Conor Hazard for the number one spot.

“With that in mind, Nathan Baxter is one of the many names that has been thrown into the hat as a suggested target.

“However, looking at our track record, so far only one of our recent incomings has been from the domestic leagues, with all the other signings coming from abroad.

“That includes our most recent addition Kornel Szucs, who came in from the Hungarian league, so we are not adverse to looking further afield for signings.”

Kewin Silva linked with Plymouth Argyle after Michael Cooper departure

While Baxter has already been linked with a move to Home Park, there have also been rumours of a move for Moreirense goalkeeper Kewin Silva.

Portuguese outlet Record outlined the story earlier in the week, with the 29-year-old [pictured] in the final year of his contract with the Primeira Liga side as it stands.

The Brazilian shot-stopper would certainly fit the bill for the type of left field signings Argyle have been making of late, and Chris believes that will be the more likely avenue than raiding the League One club in the coming weeks.

He continued: “There have been rumours of Kewin Silva, a Brazilian goalkeeper aged 29 from the Portuguese league that we are considering.

“With that in mind, I don’t consider it likely that we’ll be going for Nathan Baxter, as we have shown in our history that we are more data-driven rather than looking at simply domestic opportunities, and more than likely we’ll be looking further afield.”