Plymouth Argyle must rival Portsmouth for Crystal Palace rising star if Morgan Whittaker leaves: View | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle fans will have everything crossed that star-man Morgan Whittaker stays at the club during the off-season, but if he does move on, the club hierarchy will be on the search for new talent to help them in the final third.

The left-footed dynamo netted 19 times in the Championship during the previous campaign and fully justified the Pilgrims’ £1 million expenditure to sign him from Swansea City in the summer of 2023.

A number of Premier League clubs were rumoured to be interested in the 23-year-old in January, with Brentford and Fulham said to be keeping tabs on the forward, as well as Italian giants Lazio.

The clamour for his signature will likely continue over the summer after the wide man helped to keep the Greens in the Championship this season, and if he is to leave Crystal Palace’s Jesurun Rak-Sakyi could be the perfect replacement to fill the void at Home Park.

Plymouth Argyle expecting Morgan Whittaker interest over summer

It took a 1-0 victory over Hull City for Argyle to secure their Championship status for the following campaign, with Joe Edwards’ first-half header sealing the deal in dramatic fashion for the Devon side.

And despite playing their football in the second tier once again in the 24/25 season, director of football Neil Dewsnip expects the club to be dealing with plenty of suitors for Whittaker between now and September.

He said: "I think the first half of the season he was absolutely outstanding. He has contributed brilliantly in the second half but he probably hasn't been quite as potent - not as many goals, not as many chances.

"Good for Morgan. Will there be interest in him? I'm sure there will be. Good players are at a premium in the Championship. Even in the Premier League, so we will have to wait and see what develops. I have no idea if there is anything on the table at this moment in time."

The Greens were said to be holding out for £15 million for their prized possession during the winter, and if a bid near that value comes in over the summer, it would seem likely that the former Derby County man will be on his way out of Home Park after just one season as a permanent Argyle player.

With plenty of money in the bank if they do indeed sell their main man, Argyle will be plotting their transfer business carefully over the off-season, with reinforcements needed in the attacking department.

With the ill-fated spell of Ian Foster and the departure of a number of key loanees in January, the Greens failed to recreate their attacking verve from the first-half of the season in 2024, with only two sides scoring less goals this calendar year.

Whittaker scored eight of the 19 his side plundered since New Year’s Day, and thus proving his value for a side that maintained Championship status by the skin of their teeth after a season of ups and downs in the second tier.

He may seem indispensable to the club, but with an eight-figure transfer fee being mooted, the club could reinvest that money wisely over the summer and help them to compete higher up the league table in the next campaign.

Whittaker was just one of a number of examples of Argyle utilising the loan market to their advantage in recent seasons before making the move permanent, and bringing in a player of Rak-Sakyi's calibre would see that trend continue.

The Crystal Palace youngster has already proven his worth in the EFL during a spell at Charlton Athletic last season, with the exciting forward showcasing his abilities as one of the best players in the division during his time at The Valley, with his meandering runs and tricky feet bamboozling all manner of defences, including that of Argyle.

The forward netted just eleven minutes into his Athletic debut against the Greens in a 5-1 victory last August, before going on to net 15 league goals in his first full season in professional football.

Since then, the young talent has gone on to feature sporadically for the Eagles in the Premier League, while continuing to impress for the Palace under-21 side.

A hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur’s youth side last month proves just what a force the winger can be, with his pace, power and trickery too much for backlines to handle.

If Whittaker [pictured] is to leave, the wide man’s unpredictable nature on the flanks could prove the perfect replacement at Home Park, with his attacking prowess likely to fit into the Argyle philosophy of playing attack-minded free-flowing football.

Time and time again at the start of the season the Pilgrims were pulling teams apart at will, and approached their new division with a fearlessness that won them plenty of plaudits on their return to the second tier.

Although that was lost during a winter time with plenty of upheaval, a summer of transition awaits, and with a new manager at the helm and a fresh injection of attacking talent, the Devon side could be back to their best ahead of the next campaign.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi transfer interest, contract information

With bags of potential and proven evidence of his quality in the EFL, it is no surprise to see there is plenty of interest in the Crystal Palace man ahead of the summer.

Championship new boys Portsmouth are said to be keen on bringing the winger to Fratton Park ahead of their return to the level, while Leicester City, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers have all reportedly shown interest in the past.

Although the Pilgrims might not have the prestige of some of the clubs already mentioned, a guarantee of first-team football could see them win the race for the 21-year-old this summer, with the forward a gem just waiting to be unleashed.

The young star signed a five-year deal at Selhurst Park in the summer of 2022, meaning he still has three years left on his current contract with the Premier League side.

But with first-team opportunities non-existent under new Eagles boss Oliver Glasner, the winger could be running out of patience in the wait for regular game time, and a summer loan move could be on the cards to prove himself at Championship level and catch the eye of his new boss.

And if Whittaker is to leave, Argyle fans would rest easy if they had someone of Rak-Sakyi’s quality coming in to replace him - albeit on a temporary basis - as he would have a massive impact on attacking output at Home Park for the following campaign.