"I strongly believe" - Plymouth Argyle tipped to fend off potential transfer interest in £15k-a-week star | OneFootball

Football League World's resident Plymouth Argyle fan pundit discussed Bali Mumba's Home Park future following relegation to League One

There could well be significant transition at Plymouth Argyle this summer following the club's relegation to League One alongside Cardiff City and Luton Town at the end of the 2024/25 Championship campaign.

Plymouth will likely face a sizable battle to retain the services of both Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu, who both recorded double digits for Championship goals, and they currently remain in talks to renew the latter's contract ahead of its expiration next month.

There is also uncertainty surrounding the future of popular manager Miron Muslic, who has credit in the bank for coming commendably close to keeping the Green Army in the Championship against all odds. The Bosnian-Austrian boss recently stopped short of confirming whether he would be in charge of Plymouth in League One next term owing to issues with the footballing structure at Home Park.

A host of other assets could also leave in the coming months, but Plymouth have been backed to retain Bali Mumba heading into the summer transfer window.

The 23-year-old, who will be one of the more valuable assets in Muslic's squad, signed for Plymouth permanently in the summer of 2022 for a reported £1 million fee from Norwich City, having helped the side to promotion from League One while on loan the season prior.

Mumba impressed in the Championship last time out but struggled for consistency as Argyle were relegated, with the versatile and dynamic wing-back coming under criticism for posting just three assists and failing to score from 43 appearances.

Plymouth Argyle backed to retain Bali Mumba for 25/26

FLW spoke to our resident Green Army fan pundit, Chris, and asked him whether he believes Mumba will move on following relegation from the Championship, or if potential second-tier suitors may be put off by the ex-Sunderland prospect's shortage of direct goal contributions.

In Chris' view, that factor will be a "turn-off point" for clubs, and while he has predicted interest in Mumba's signature, he ultimately remains very confident that the Argyle wide-man will stay put to help his side back to the Championship at the first attempt.

"Although there is a lot of excitement in relation to what prospects we will be looking to acquire come the summer transfer window, there are also a lot of concerns regarding the current squad," Chris told FLW.

"Although we've seen the retained list and many of our regular first-team players are still under contract such as Ryan Hardie, the difficulty will be keeping those assets for the League One season with the hope of bouncing straight back up to Championship football.

"One of those particular assets of concern is Bali Mumba, the £1 million signing which has helped us to remain in the Championship for two seasons but was unable to keep us there for the coming season.

"With League One football, there is always the prospect of many outside clubs, particularly those who are newly promoted, will be looking for a fast and pacey wing-back who is able to show goal contributions.

"However, the turn-off point may be the fact that, last season, Mumba didn't contribute that much directly in the way of assists or goals, unlike the season before it.

"I strongly believe that he will stay with the club, and we will fend off potential suitors for his signature due to the prospect of going straight back up to the Championship, staying with the club he knows and trains well with, and already doing well under Miron Muslic."

Bali Mumba's estimated Plymouth Argyle wage

Plymouth have security over Mumba's contractual future and will be in no rush to accept offers. That's because Mumba is under contract until the summer of 2027, having agreed on a four-year deal nearly two years ago.

But that contract does make him Plymouth's top earner according to Capology, which estimates Mumba to be earning a weekly wage of £15,000.

On an annual basis, that equates to £780,000 and it is a lot of money for League One, although Plymouth are in a much better spot when it comes to player salaries and potential reductions to the wage bill than the likes of Luton and Cardiff.