Plymouth Argyle: Michael Cooper price-tag emerges amid Crystal Palace, Sheffield United interest | OneFootball

The Pilgrims' asking price for contract rebel Cooper has been revealed

Plymouth Argyle have reportedly set a £3 million asking price for Michael Cooper, who has entered the final year of his current Home Park contract amid interest from both Crystal Palace and Sheffield United.

The latest development in Cooper’s future comes via a recent report from The Sun’s transfer guru Alan Nixon, who has claimed that Plymouth are demanding the seven-figure fee for the 24-year-old.

Following the appointment of ex-Derby County and Birmingham City head coach Wayne Rooney, Plymouth have made a host of summer signings in a bid to steer clear of a second successive Championship relegation battle, having snapped up Nathanael Ogbeta, Darko Gyabi, Muhamed Tijani, Ibrahim Cissoko and Victor Palsson in recent weeks.

However, there is also a real impetus on the retention of prized assets such as Cooper and Morgan Whittaker, who have both attracted interest thus far in the summer transfer window.

Plymouth Argyle set Michael Cooper asking price amid Crystal Palace, Sheffield United interest

Nixon’s recent reveal discloses that Plymouth are holding out for £3 million in order to part ways with Cooper, with the highly-regarded shot-stopper facing an uncertain future at the club ahead of his final season under contract.

The Star initially revealed interest from Sheffield United, who were relegated from the Premier League last term and have faced difficulty in bolstering their own squad towards a hopeful promotion charge next time around owing to the ongoing prospective takeover by an undisclosed Silicon Valley-based consortium.

However, the recent acquisitions of Callum O’Hare, Kieffer Moore and most notably Peterborough United skipper Harrison Burrows are indicative of increased impetus in the market, which could equate to a heightening of their known interest in Cooper over the coming weeks.

On the other hand, Nixon's report for The Sun adds that the Blades may find it challenging to successfully strike a deal for Cooper if they fail to sanction player sales or complete their much-awaited takeover, with the Peterborough Telegraph reporting of an initial £3 million deal for Burrows which encompasses the same figure in potential future add-on clauses.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace are believed to envisage Cooper as a replacement for England international Sam Johnstone, who could be set to depart Selhurst Park this summer after being usurped by countryman Dean Henderson in Oliver Glasner’s pecking order.

It’s also said that Cooper himself is aware of the Premier League interest in his signature, which will undoubtedly form a significant part of his thinking heading into the final four weeks of the window.

There are plenty of moving parts still at play regarding the interest in Cooper, who Rooney is vocally keen to keep at the club for the 2024/25 campaign.

However, the situation is complicated given that he now has less than a year left on his current deal and rejected a fresh offer that would’ve seen him become the highest-paid player in Argyle’s history, as per PlymouthLive.

Plymouth Argyle's Michael Cooper should consider first-team football at Sheffield United ahead of Crystal Palace

The opportunity to feature in the Premier League does not routinely come around and can therefore prove difficult to reject, particularly whilst playing for a team who are some way off contesting for promotion to English football’s top flight.

Cooper’s rationale will doubtlessly be influenced by the possibility of plying his trade on the domestic pyramid’s premiere podium by either making a direct move or joining a Championship club with more tangible promotion designs, which Chris Wilder’s United have exhibited as of late through a flurry of ambitious transfer business.

Bramall Lane represents an intriguing potential destination for Cooper and although the same can quite easily be said about Palace, who have recruited and cultivated stellar EFL talent in Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise alongside Three Lions duo Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze, consistent competitive minutes must be a priority and that simply can’t be guaranteed in South London.

Ex-Blade Henderson is an accomplished first-choice goalkeeper who can still improve significantly at the age of 27, and it’s unlikely that he’ll be dislodged anytime soon after starting 11 of Glasner’s first 14 league matches in charge.