Plymouth Argyle: Morgan Whittaker's transfer worth according to AI | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle man Morgan Whittaker is one of the Championship's brightest young talent, but how much is he worth according to AI?

Plymouth Argyle's Morgan Whittaker has marked himself out as one of the EFL's top young talents over recent seasons.

The technically excellent attacking player is one of Pilgrims boss Wayne Rooney's key men as he looks to put his stamp on things at Home Park, but how much is the 23-year-old worth in today's transfer market, according to AI?

Whittaker, who can play out wide, as an attacking midfielder or an out-and-out 'number 10', came through the youth ranks at Derby County, making 32 first-team appearances over two years for the Rams, before moving on to Swansea City in early 2021.

Playing internationally for every England age group side between Under-16's and Under-20's, the creative talent showed glimpses of the quality he possesses in a Swans shirt.

Rangy, two-footed, and able to glide past opponents with ease, Whittaker's time in South Wales was punctuated by hugely successful loan spells with League One clubs Lincoln City and Plymouth Argyle, respectively, in 2022.

While his parent club exercised their recall clause and ended his temporary stay with the Devon side at the start of 2023, the Pilgrims would go on to be promoted to the Championship in May, before signing Whittaker permanently for a club record fee totaling in excess of £1m ahead of their first season back in the second-tier.

The Devon-born player has continued to go from strength-to-strength in a green shirt, helping his side consolidate at the higher level and picking up January's EFL Championship Player of the Month award.

While Rooney's men have begun the season a little disappointingly, the former Everton and Manchester United forward will be hoping his star man can be the one to kick-start things over the coming weeks and months and propel his side up the table.

Whittaker estimated to be worth up to nearly €9m

While player transfer values and worth are extremely subjective and dependent on multiple, ever-changing factors, footballtransfers.com uses AI to estimate individual players' cost in the current market. So how do they do that, and how much do they believe Whittaker is worth right now?

AI is used for a vast array of things in this day and age. FootballTransfers use a player valuation tool known as ETV (Estimated Transfer Value) that they developed in partnership with SciSports in recent years.

The tool uses a proprietary algorithm to assess every fact, consideration and variable available and calculate a realistic transfer value figure for each individual player.

What that algorithm currently shows is that, should they choose to cash in on Whittaker at any point, Plymouth stand to make a tidy profit, with the attacking midfielder valued by the aforementioned system at between €5.4m and €8.9m.

Multiple clubs hold interest in 23-year-old

Whittaker's continued development and progression, combined with his attacking versatility, quality, and potentially high ceiling has, understandably, not gone without notice.

London's Premier League trio of Fulham, Brentford and West Ham were all heavily linked with a summer move for the Argyle man, while Glasgow giants Rangers are also known to hold a long-standing interest in the talented Englishman.

Whittaker will be remaining in Devon for the time being, though, and he'll hope to make further progress under the stewardship of such a legendary figure in the Home Park dugout.

There's little doubt he'll play at a higher level in the future, however, and when the time comes for him to move on and test himself in a new environment, there's every chance the Pilgrims will see a huge financial benefit in the process.