Football League World
·27 July 2024
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·27 July 2024
There are a number of players with less than a year on their contract at Home Park as it stands
With contracts expiring all over the country at the end of last month, clubs up and down the land were made to make hard decisions regarding the future of their players.
As the end of June comes round every year, players and clubs will start to look elsewhere for their future, although the writing will have been on the wall for many before the summer comes around.
Plymouth Argyle will be in the same boat in 11 months' time, with eight players currently in the final year of their current deal at Home Park, with negotiations likely to begin with those they wish to keep on a longer-term basis.
But for some, it could be the end of the road, so here are the octet who could be playing their last season in Devon (according to transfermarkt records) if nothing changes over the course of the next season, with some high-profile names set to depart the club as it stands.
Michael Cooper’s short-term future at Argyle is currently in doubt, never mind whether he will see the last year of his contract out.
The shot-stopper is said to have rejected a deal to become the club’s best paid player in recent weeks, as he looks for a move elsewhere to progress his career.
Coventry City and Crystal Palace have been credited with an interest in the 24-year-old since the news broke about his uncertain future at the club, as the pair look to lure him away from Home Park this summer.
Argyle boss Wayne Rooney has resolutely come out to say that he sees his number one as a big part of his plans for the season ahead, although the Greens may have a temptation to cash in on their prized asset before the transfer window comes to a close.
Having kept 11 clean sheets in his 29 appearances as the Pilgrims won the League One title in the 22/23 campaign, Cooper added another six in his 19 matches in the second tier last year, but now looks set to leave Devon, but whether that is this summer or next remains to be seen.
The player who has epitomised what it means to play for Argyle more than anyone in the past five years has been captain Joe Edwards.
The Argyle skipper’s deal is currently set to expire in the summer of 2025, but although his playing days in Devon might be over, the club have agreed a deal in principle for him to remain in a coaching capacity when he decides to hang up his boots.
With his heart-on-sleeve mentality when he takes to the field, there won’t be many better people to rally the troops if he does join the backroom staff in the years to come, having been one of the most successful captains in the club’s history.
Having led the Greens to League One promotion, as well as scoring the goal to keep them in the Championship last season, Edwards will always be warmly welcomed at Home Park, and has etched himself into Argyle history as a result of his barnstorming performances.
Bristol Rovers were said to be interested in bringing the Argyle skipper to the club earlier this summer, having initially taken an interest in him during the previous January transfer window, but there has been no progress in that since the initial speculation.
Another man whose immediate future at the club has been in question in recent weeks is Dan Scarr, who also entered the final year of his contract this month.
The defender is said to have been of interest to League One side Birmingham City this summer, as the Blues look to bolster their defensive ranks ahead of their season in the third tier.
The former Walsall man has been a domineering presence at the back for the Devon outfit in the past three seasons, with over 100 games in green since joining the club in 2021.
After being something of a regular during his first two years in green, Ian Foster’s spell in charge of the club saw the 29-year-old having to play a bit-part role in the second half of last season.
But after the former England youth coach’s departure, Scarr was brought back into the fold and performed heroically as Argyle maintained their Championship status, with three clean sheets in their final six matches.
Mustapha Bundu joined the club near the end of the last summer transfer window, signing a two-year deal in Devon after making the move from Anderlecht.
The Sierra Leone international was rarely a starter during the last 12 months, but he did manage to make quite the impact on the Greens’ season, with the winner against Leicester City in April to help their survival chances during the run-in.
For that alone, Argyle fans would happily extend his contract for another ten years, but as it stands, the 27-year-old could be on his way out of the club next summer.
With the early signs looking as if Rooney has adapted to playing with two strikers for the season ahead, there could be a new role for Bundu in the coming 12 months, where he will be looking to earn himself an extension to his current deal in Devon.
Having signed a two-year deal when the Pilgrims were promoted to the Championship, Jordan Houghton is another player who is down to his final few months of his current deal.
The former Chelsea man featured in 40 league matches during the previous campaign, with his composure in marshalling his defence and keeping possession ticking over largely going unheralded in the middle of the park.
The 28-year-old has been a steady presence during his second stint at Home Park, and has racked up over 150 appearances in green over both spells with the club.
It remains to be seen what Argyle decide is best for the future of the former MK Dons man in the months to come, but it would be no surprise to see him offered an extension after a strong first season in the second tier.
After joining the club in January 2023, Ben Waine’s time at Argyle has largely been a frustrating one, with the New Zealand international rarely making an impact when he is deployed from the bench.
The Kiwi’s future weighs in the balance as the 24/25 gets underway next month, with the likes of Muhamed Tijani and Iba Cissoko added to the Pilgrims’ offensive ranks over the summer.
That means there is more competition for the attacking roles this season, and Waine could suffer as a result, having netted just twice in 32 appearances in the previous campaign.
After a summer which has seen him perform for his country at the OFC Nations Cup, as well as the Olympics - in which he scored a winner in the opener against Guinea - Waine will be returning to England with a point to prove in the weeks to come.
The club are said to have an option to extend his current deal by another year, should they wish to do so, but as it stands, the 23-year-old will be looking for a new club next summer.
Julio Pleguezuelo joined the club last summer, as the Spaniard made the move to England from FC Twente as the Pilgrims began their second tier quest.
The jury is still out on the defender though, with just 22 starts to his name in his first season at the club, with Lewis Gibson, Dan Scarr and Ashley Phillips all above him in the pecking order at times.
With the aforementioned change of shape that looks to have been adopted for the next campaign, Pleguezuelo could benefit from a place in a back four, rather than a five, with Gibson, Scarr and Brendan Galloway for competition.
The former Arsenal man will be looking to make more of an impact in the year to come, or else he will be out the door once June comes to an end next year.
Teenage goalkeeper Zak Baker signed his first professional contract with the club last summer, and has recently added another year onto that deal, keeping him at Home Park until the summer of 2025.
The young shot-stopper enjoyed a loan spell at Tiverton Town in the Southern League Premier Division last season, and has already been sent back out on loan for the following campaign.
The young glovesman will be staying in the city, but plying his trade for Plymouth Parkway in the upcoming campaign, as he looks to get more minutes under his belt during his fledgling career.
With fellow academy graduate Cooper showing the pathway into the first-team is a possibility, Baker will be doing everything he can to try and impress the Plymouth chiefs in the year to come, and get an extension to his contract.
Like Baker, Will Jenkins-Davies is another player to have come up through the ranks at Home Park, but has failed to feature much for the Pilgrims since making the step-up to the professional game.
The 19-year-old spent the previous campaign on loan at Torquay United in the National League South, and scored seven times in 33 appearances for the Gulls, although he did miss part of the campaign with a knee injury.
That form has seen the teenager rewarded with a year's extension to his deal in Devon this summer, as he gets a further 12 months to prove himself worthy of a future with the Pilgrims.
With a clean slate under new boss Rooney, the young talent will be looking to do all he can to prove himself in the year to come.
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