"Maybe his head was turned" - Sky Sports pundit drops Plymouth Argyle, Morgan Whittaker claim | OneFootball

Clinton Morrison discussed Morgan Whittaker's Plymouth Argyle situation with Football League World

Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert Clinton Morrison has encouraged Plymouth Argyle to cash in on Morgan Whittaker, who made headlines for "not showing up" to his side's 5-0 home defeat to the Clarets on Wednesday evening amid long-standing interest from the Championship promotion hopefuls.

Plymouth's ever-lessening hopes of second-tier survival were handed yet another blow as they fell to a chastening 5-0 defeat to Burnley at Home Park, with all five goals coming inside the first-half.

While what unfolded on the pitch has bruised Argyle, who are now six points shy of safety at the foot of the league table despite appointing Miron Muslic earlier this month, there was also a huge discussion point off it as star forward Morgan Whittaker did not feature in the matchday squad.

Whittaker has been a significant transfer target for the Clarets dating back to last summer and was spotted by cameras in the stands but "did not show up" in the words of Muslic, who slammed the ex-Derby County and Swansea City man's mentality in his post-match interview.

The 42-year-old told the press: "He was in the selection (against Burnley) and he was not there. We need to change this mentality, we need to change the locker room, we need to get characters inside with the desire to face this challenge and to give it all.

"Morgan didn't show up. We had a game today and he was in the selection and he was not there, and that's everything I have to say on Morgan."

Earlier this week, it was reported that Burnley had made a new bid worth £5 million plus add-ons for Whittaker, whom they saw two offers turned down back in the summer. Plymouth, however, will not sell the winger unless their asking price is met amid separate interest from Championship rivals Middlesbrough.

Clinton Morrison's Plymouth Argyle, Morgan Whittaker transfer verdict

The Whittaker situation has naturally represented a significant talking point, and Clinton Morrison has weighed in on the matter.

Morrison spoke exclusively to Football League World, on behalf of Free Bets. The pundit argued against claims of Whittaker not showing up entirely, although he did speculate the potential reasons why he was not involved and has encouraged Plymouth to sanction a sale before the window is up.

"People say he didn’t show up, when you watch the game on TV the camera was on him and he was in the stands so he did turn up. I hate when people say that about a player and then the camera shows them in the stands," Morrison told FLW.

"So maybe it’s a deal between him and the club where they don’t want him to play because he might be getting a move and they don’t want him to get injured. Or maybe his head was turned and he just missed last night because there are teams knocking on the door to sign him.

"But he was at the game, I watched the game yesterday and I did see his face on the camera. So it does look like he could be on the move, I did think he was going to leave in the summer because he was outstanding last season and they managed to keep hold of him.

"For Plymouth, I think it’s going to be a bit of a struggle for them to stay in the league. I know they need to keep him to have half a chance of staying up, but if someone’s going to offer £2-3m when you’re likely going into League One then you have to bite their hands off.

"I think he’ll move. I don’t know where, maybe somewhere like Burnley, but he will move in this window."

Morgan Whittaker has endured a difficult season with struggling Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth sealed survival on the final day of the previous season courtesy of Whittaker's efforts, as the ex-England youth international star scored a whopping 19 league goals after signing permanently from Swansea.

But, just like Argyle, Whittaker has struggled this season. The 23-year-old missed over a month of action across the bulk of December with a foot injury but returned emphatically to score an 82nd minute winner in Argyle's shock FA Cup third-round victory at Premier League side Brentford.

Whittaker's league form, however, has not been quite so encouraging. He has been subjected to criticism from the Home Park faithful this term, who simply have not seen the player of last term consistently enough.

With just three league strikes to his name, it's been a disappointing season for Whittaker and he will perhaps hope to rediscover those levels of old in a new, competitive side towards the top-end of the division, which appears an increasingly-likely reality at this moment in time.