Wayne Rooney comments show Plymouth Argyle ready to play Morgan Whittaker hardball: View | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney's latest comments are suggestive of a strong Plymouth Argyle transfer stance

Wayne Rooney will have numerous calls of duty after returning to senior management with Plymouth Argyle ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

On a personal level, the primary objective is to re-elevate his fallen stock from a bitterly disappointing spell in charge of Birmingham City last season, one which ended in relegation for Blues while incurring a real dent to Rooney's regard as a head coach.

That's exactly why many were surprised to see him return to the dugout fairly quickly after his departure from the West Midlands, but ensuring that Plymouth avoid succumbing to the same fate will be equally crucial, and they're widely expected to find themselves embroiled in an archetypal relegation dogfight once again next season.

Make no mistake about it, that fortune will likely be dictated by the status of Morgan Whittaker come September, a reality that strikes deja-vu to the defining impact and difference made by the versatile forward in 2023/24.

Wayne Rooney intends on keeping Morgan Whittaker at Plymouth Argyle

Naturally, many of the questions directed towards Rooney ahead of his pre-season preparations at Plymouth pertain to the future of Whittaker, who is set to attract a plethora of transfer interest once more this summer.

The winger previously enjoyed a stellar loan spell at Home Park during the first-half of Plymouth's 2022/23 promotion campaign, which was cut short by parent club Swansea City before they decided to sanction a £1m sale the following summer.

Indeed, their decision to part ways with Whittaker is one that has generated plenty of regret in South Wales given the ascension of his stock and transfer valuation, although Rooney rightly isn't prepared to take advantage of that just yet.

Rooney himself is all-too-familiar with Whittaker, with the two having spent time together at Derby County at opposing career spectrums.

"I'm sure there will be interest, I'm sure there will be bids for him, but from our point of view he's an Argyle player and I want to try and move forward with Morgan,"Rooney said of Whittaker, per the BBC.

"Of course, if you're getting crazy offers, as a club you have to look at that, but we want him here, we want him to be part of the squad.

"He's a fantastic player as we saw last season, but he's a really good human being as well.

"But Morgan has come in, as everyone else has for pre-season training, trained really well with a smile on his face and he is a quality player, there's no getting beyond that."

Rooney's comments are certainly intriguing, as he indicates both a willingness to work with Whittaker and, importantly, a potential refusal to consider any offerings that are not extortionate.

It's all very suggestive of a hardball stance from Argyle, which is exactly what they need to adopt and maintain, regardless of how many suitors join the impending race.

There is plenty of clubs though keeping tabs on the left-footed dynamo, with Wolves, Brentford, Celta Vigo, Lazio and Stuttgart all in the running, according to Football Insider.

That is a wide variety of top flight clubs from different countries, which shows that Whittaker's talents are not going unnoticed, but now Plymouth must decide what his correct valuation is.

Wayne Rooney and Plymouth Argyle must not sanction Morgan Whittaker transfer on the cheap

There's a clear avenue of risk with Whittaker's future, as his market value will be cut down considerably if the Pilgrims fall to relegation in 2025 and that is most certainly a possibility.

Plymouth quite simply would not be able to play hardball in League One, where Whittaker would understandably not want to be stationed and his admirers would be in a strong position to capitalise on that.

So, there is a school of thought that Plymouth could be well-served by sanctioning a sale now to gather significant funds to bolster their Championship survival hopes, but on the contrary, such ambitions would be dashed if Whittaker departs.

For starters, Whittaker was reportedly the subject of £15 million approaches from Premier League duo Fulham and Brentford in the January transfer window, though his valuation would surely soar further if he has another outstanding campaign in the second-tier of English football - which Plymouth would benefit from keeping in mind.

But away from financial matters, Whittaker is the one player in Rooney's squad truly, and consistently capable of exerting X-Factor ability into matches, with his trickery, directness and eye for goal all rendering him a feared proposition at this level.

A sole point proved the difference between staying in the division and falling out of it back in May, so you can underline Whittaker's importance pretty clearly given that he tallied up 19 league strikes.

Taking those goals out of the team would undoubtedly be devastating, and while Plymouth's shrewd recruitment philosophy could well birth a positive replacement in the event of a sale, it's implausible that they'll be able to instantly attract someone of Whittaker's class.

So, they must do all they can and continue playing hardball if they really to intend on establishing themselves in the Championship under Rooney.