Marc Leonard signs: 3 dreamy yet realistic Plymouth Argyle transfers the club should make this summer | OneFootball

This summer promises to be a busy one for Plymouth Argyle, with a new manager to be headhunted as well as plenty of transfer business to right the wrongs of this season.

The Greens started their first season back in the Championship so promisingly, but the wheels fell off as boss Steven Schumacher jumped ship for Stoke City, before Ian Foster’s short reign at Home Park ended before it began.

The Pilgrims’ January transfer dealings didn’t much help matters for the second-half of the campaign, with loanees Finn Azaz, Luke Cundle and Kaine Kesler-Hayden all recalled to their parent clubs, while their replacements failed to fill the hole left in the side.

That makes this summer a crucial one for the club, and if they are to maintain their status as a Championship club they will be doing all they can to pick up some bright talents that can help them kick on in their aspirations to be fighting towards the top of the second tier.

Here we take a look at three players who could make all the difference if they were to up sticks and move to Devon this summer, and give Argyle that much-needed impetus in the final third.

Marc Leonard

Over his two successive loans with Northampton Town, Marc Leonard has proved just what a top operator he is, having hit double figures for goal contributions in his first season at League One level.

The Brighton and Hove Albion player has been a crucial part of Jon Brady’s side this season, having barely missed a minute of league action, with his business and vision making him the man that makes things tick at Sixfields.

With Argyle missing the sort of player who can take a game by the scruff of the neck and change their fortunes in an instant, a player like Leonard would be warmly welcomed into the fold ahead of the next campaign.

The midfielder possesses an excellent delivery from set pieces, the 22-year-old would be able to help the Pilgrims up their ability to find the net from dead ball situations; with their five goals this season the joint-lowest in the whole division.

Argyle are said in the race for Leonard’s signature alongside the likes of Cardiff City and Preston North End, with the Seagulls likely to accept an offer in the region of £300,000 for the Scotland U21 international.

Ollie O’Neill

This one would be a real smash and grab, with Ollie O’Neill only joining Leyton Orient from Fulham in January, but the playmaker has already displayed talents that could take him all the way to the top.

His ability to pick a pass, beat a man and find the net are all well above League One level, and the O’s have picked themselves up a gem of a player that immediately contributed to a strong second half to the season.

With interim boss Neil Dewsnip having to resort to playing Mustapha Bundu on the wing of late, the lack of depth in the wide attacking areas is plain for all to see at Home Park, and someone with O’Neill’s grace and flair could provide the perfect spark in the final third.

You’ve only got to look at his recent goal at Cheltenham Town to see the skill he possesses; after picking up a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area, the 21-year-old makes himself a yard before curling an effort into the top corner. Absolutely magic.

Having signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at Brisbane Road in January the winger has a contract that runs until the summer of 2026 with Orient, but if Morgan Whittaker is to depart this summer, the Greens will have plenty of cash to invest in a top talent like O’Neill.

Macaulay Langstaff

Sometimes the right answer is the obvious one, and in Macaulay Langstaff you have a player that is guaranteed goals, goals, and more goals.

Having hit 70 league goals over the course of the past two seasons with the winner against Colchester United recently, the 27-year-old has proven he can cut it in the Football League, and there is no reason why he can’t go even further.

With Ryan Hardie’s early form in front of goal drying up, the Greens have been struggling in front of goal of late; with more and more reliance on the magic of Whittaker to get them out of trouble.

Someone of Langstaff’s ability could help ease those worries for the following campaign; we have all seen his ability to find the net from all manner of positions, and that sort of ability doesn’t go away overnight.

Despite the forward signing a new deal with the club last summer that lasts until the summer of 2027, Argyle could have plenty of cash to play with in the summer if Whittaker moves on, and a man who loves to score would be warmly welcomed, and they should be breaking the bank to make him theirs.