Plymouth Argyle: Player signed from Celtic has certainly affected 23-year-old’s fortunes: Opinion | OneFootball

An already strong start to the season hit new heights for Plymouth Argyle on the weekend when they made light work of Norwich City.

Norwich had an embarrassment of riches on the field in comparison yet Argyle put on a show in front of their home fans, winning 6-2.

Morgan Whittaker was the star of the show with the former Swansea City man netting a hat-trick and at the other end of the field Conor Hazard made a couple of big saves as he continues to thrive in Devon.

Callum Burton did a great job at deputising for the stricken Michael Cooper at the end of last season and with Cooper now returning to fitness, his competition is even stronger in the form of Hazard.

As these two excellent goalkeepers are set to go toe-to-toe, battling it out for the starting spot in between the sticks under Steven Schumacher’s management, what will this mean for Cooper’s future prospects?

How has Hazard performed thus far with Plymouth Argyle?

As previously mentioned, Conor Hazard was solid in the emphatic win over Norwich with one of the two goals he conceded being an incorrectly awarded penalty.

The 25-year-old arrived at Home Park from SPFL champions Celtic in the summer for a fee in the region of £150,000. Given the presence of Michael Cooper whether he be injured or not, this signing raised a few eyebrows, especially when you consider how few players Argyle have spent money on over the years.

Hazard has kept two clean sheets so far in the 2023/24 campaign at a rate of 25%, these coming in the 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers on home soil and the goalless draw against Watford at Vicarage Road.

As good as Burton was in the tail-end of the title-winning season, there were moments where he was unable to live up to the lofty expectations set by Cooper. Hazard on the other hand has bridged the gap very well and has Argyle set up well for the future.

He has by no means been perfect with the Pilgrims conceding the seventh most goals in the division but that doesn’t just come down to him, with a mistake falling at the feet of his defenders here and there.

All in all, Hazard looks like yet another bit of brilliant recruitment from the powers that be at Argyle and now the thought of losing Michael Cooper isn’t completely terrifying to the Green Army.

What does the future hold for goalkeeper Michael Cooper?

Turning attentions to the aforementioned Cooper now and after graduating from the Plymouth Argyle academy in 2017, he was exactly what the club needed following the departure of long-term goalkeeper Luke McCormick.

Cooper quickly became a fan’s favourite with every team desperate to see one of their own make a breakthrough.

The 23-year-old born in Exeter was in the EFL League One Team of the Season for 2021/22 and 2022/23 as well as picking up the Golden Glove for the former after keeping 18 clean sheets.

There have been murmurings of bigger clubs looking to secure his services albeit with no solid rumours and it is fascinating to look at how his future may be affected by the brilliance of Conor Hazard.

Argyle may well be slightly more willing to part ways with their beloved youngster due to having a very capable replacement but if he doesn’t get the opportunity to show that this cruciate ligament rupture hasn’t damaged his abilities, then the interest in him could slowly fade away.

Cooper is yet to make an appearance this season and his last outing, when he picked up the injury, was back in February as his side lost to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.