Plymouth Argyle: Andre Gray form could lead to renewed Burnley, Morgan Whittaker deal | OneFootball

With Andre Gray finding his feet at Plymouth, his form could pave the way for a renewed Morgan Whittaker bid from Burnley

Andre Gray is doing his best to earn a Plymouth Argyle contract beyond January, but his form could give the Pilgrims a difficult decision to make in January.

Gray has netted three times since moving to Home Park in October, and such has been his impressive form that he's already the club's joint-top scorer for the season.

He brings with him a rich goalscoring pedigree at this level and gives Wayne Rooney the flexibility to use a few different systems, with Plymouth's 2-2 draw with Watford on Friday seeing him field a 3-4-1-2 formation, which he believed worked.

Rooney claims such a formation helps him get more players into the box and makes his side more attacking, but in doing so, he perhaps sacrifices a little of what made Morgan Whittaker so special beforehand.

Whittaker limped off with an injury on Friday night, and Plymouth fans must be fearing what the future holds for him now with the January transfer window drawing ever closer.

Andre Gray's form could make Plymouth Argyle more comfortable selling Morgan Whittaker

In a set of unusual circumstances, former Burnley man Gray could be helping out his former employers by banging in the goals as well as he is doing.

It could be argued that if his form continues, and as expected, he gets a Plymouth deal to run beyond January, then the goalscoring burden on Whittaker is lessened and it could pave the way for his departure.

It's no secret that Burnley are huge admirers of Whittaker, seeing two offers rebuffed for him over the summer as they sought to bolster their front line.

But with the Clarets still struggling in the attacking department, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see them return in January, and that would leave Plymouth with a difficult decision to make - do they keep hold of their star man for the rest of the season, or cash in now.

There would be an expectancy among Plymouth fans that it would be the former of those options, particularly as they're in the thick of a hotly-contested relegation battle, and although his performances haven't yet reached last season's levels, Whittaker is still a key component in the Plymouth side.

Yet with Gray scoring goals at the rate he is, and having a proven track record of doing so at this level over a long period of time, they could be tempted to cash in.

Burnley are desperate for some attacking prowess after lacklustre start to 2024-25

That certainly won't be an option which appeals to any Plymouth fans, particularly with Whittaker's deal running until 2027, so any move could well command a cushy fee.

Burnley are desperate for attackers though in their battle to gain promotion, so they could well be willing to stump up that cushy fee, and with January widely regarded as a seller's window rather than a buyer's, Gray's form could make Plymouth tempted to cash in.

Having just dropped out of the Premier League, and desperate to get back there at the first attempt, it's expected that Burnley will throw money at reinforcing their squad in January, and Whittaker could be near the top of their wish list.

Plymouth could certainly look to take advantage of that, and after Argyle's Director of Football, Neil Dewsnip, has previously stated that they eventually may have to sell to "keep Plymouth Argyle going in the direction we want it to do," then there's an err of inevitability around his move.