Plymouth Argyle should target former Liverpool man to replace Finn Azaz: View | OneFootball

The loss of Finn Azaz delivers a hammer blow to Plymouth Argyle and their survival hopes in the Championship.

Aston Villa recalled the Irishman out of the blue and they are now set to sell him to Middlesbrough.

Plymouth Argyle can’t afford to feel sorry for themselves and lick their wounds though. The Devonshire club need to replace Azaz this month and given their shoestring budget, free agent Ovie Ejaria is an ideal target.

Finn Azaz properly announced himself to the EFL after thriving on loan at Newport County.

The former West Bromwich Albion man was previously at Cheltenham Town but it was the move across the border that made the difference.

At Rodney Parade, Azaz amassed seven goals and seven assists in 3,297 League Two minutes, as well as an additional assist in an EFL Cup victory over Ipswich Town.

Devon was the next destination and Azaz, where he contributed to 17 goals at the higher level, the League One title being the reward for him and his teammates.

Championship football brought even more of a challenge but once again, he wasn’t deterred.

The Argyle faithful were hopeful of securing a permanent deal for Azaz but as previously mentioned, ‘Boro have won the race and stole away their prized attacking midfielder.

Michael Carrick’s team may have spent a whopping £2.5 million so as to secure the Irishman’s services, but Argyle will of course receive none of this money and are instead, left in the lurch.

Filling the Azaz-shaped void is a key priority for the club now, as is replacing the departed manager Steven Schumacher.

January is a huge month for Argyle, one which could surely make or break their season back in the second division.

From Anfield to free agency for Ejaria

Neil Dewsnip and his team behind recruitment have regularly struck gold for Plymouth Argyle.

Azaz was yet another masterful loan signing that helped the club to punch above their weight, and they need to pull off a similar feat this time around.

Whilst there may be the perfect player in the Premier League or Championship ready to be loaned to the Pilgrims, it is a free agent that we are putting forward as the primary candidate instead.

Ovie Ejaria came through the youth ranks at Liverpool and went on to make eight appearances in the famous red shirt.

It never quite worked out for the dynamic attacker at Anfield and so after a few loan spells away from Merseyside, he joined Reading on a permanent deal.

Ejaria found some form with both Rangers and the Royals, as shown in the table above, but it was always assumed that he had that little bit extra to give.

He was released by Reading just a few weeks ago, despite the fact that his contract was set to run until the summer.

The reasoning was given as being as follows: “Injury and fitness problems limiting first team action of late and a desire from the club to reduce its expenditure.”

At one point, Ejaria and Michael Olise were a creative duo that made light work of many Championship defences, but now the former has been superseded by the likes of Charlie Savage and Femi Azeez at the SCL Stadium.

Keeping the 26-year-old fit and firing is the biggest challenge that Argyle would face if they were to bring him on board.

Football can often be a case of risk and reward, with the latter sure to come to the fore if the club played their cards right with Ejaria.

This transfer would be quite a full circle one also, with the England U21 international having faced Argyle in the FA Cup in 2017, during his time at Liverpool.