Plymouth Argyle need to act now to avoid Michael Cooper repeat | OneFootball

Adam Randell is out of contract in the summer of 2026, and the Greens need to extend that deal immediately

Plymouth Argyle were always fighting a losing battle from the moment that Michael Cooper rejected a new deal at Home Park last summer.

The academy graduate had always been tipped as a star of the future as he came up through the ranks at Home Park and his reputation continued to grow after helping the club climb the EFL ladder.

The shot-stopper was the most reliable last line of defence during his time in green - or fluorescent orange or pink to be more precise - with his reflexes and agility getting the Pilgrims out of trouble on regular occasions in League One and the Championship.

But as soon as the contract scenario came into play, he was also destined for pastures new, with Sheffield United capitalising on the situation in a £2 million deal plus add-ons.

While losing their number one was bad enough, the Greens could well find themselves in a similar scenario with Adam Randell this summer if they don’t get him to sign on the dotted line soon.

Michael Cooper rejection burns Plymouth Argyle

There was never any element of doubt that Cooper was going to go on to bigger and better things than Plymouth Argyle at one stage in his career, with talk of international recognition not beyond the realms of the imagination.

Injury issues likely played into the Pilgrims’ hands into keeping the gloveman as long as they did in the end, with ligament injuries seeing him have two separate spells on the sidelines in his last two seasons in Devon.

But after showing their faith in the academy graduate, Argyle were left with egg on their face last summer, as Cooper was reported to have rejected a new deal offered by the club, and thus forcing them to accept a transfer before the transfer window came to a close.

That speculation was rife in the Greens’ opening fixture of the Championship campaign, with Conor Hazard preferred in goal and Cooper on the bench, with an impending departure looking more and more likely as time went on.

As it turned out, the custodian didn’t have to leave the Steel City to complete his move, with a £2 million move to the red half of town sealed just days later, with a further £2 million coming Argyle’s way if certain clauses are met.

There will have been plenty among the Green Army who would have valued their goalkeeper as being worth at least double the fee they received six months ago, and there was more than an underlying feeling of ‘same old Argyle’ about the situation.

It was hard to shake the feeling that the Pilgrims had been done over by their own player and the Blades during the whole debacle, and with Cooper now providing a platform for United to push towards the Premier League, that price tag looks even more ludicrous with the benefit of hindsight.

Having been bitten once, Argyle will be hoping to do all they can to avoid a repeat situation with Randell this summer, with the midfielder set to be in a similar scenario to his fellow academy graduate during the off-season.

Plymouth Argyle need to agree Adam Randell contract extension

Having signed a three-year deal when Argyle got promoted from League One in the summer of 2023, Randell is close to entering the last year of his current deal, and is becoming more vital than ever in the Pilgrims’ game plan.

The ‘Plymstock Pirlo’ has developed massively with regular second-tier football over the last two seasons, and is now one of the first names on the team sheet due to his unerring energy in the middle of the park.

The 24-year-old is the glue that holds everything together for the Greens, and it is no surprise he has been given the armband in the absence of club captain Joe Edwards, with Rooney touting him as a future captain of the club during his time in charge.

Whether he is hounding the opposition and winning the ball upfield, or spreading a pass here, there and everywhere, Randell keeps the green blood flowing from front to back, and is thriving even more under the stewardship of Miron Muslic.

With Jordan Houghton alongside him right now, the pair work perfectly in tandem; the former Chelsea man assists in the dirty work in regaining possession, before allowing the Plymothian to roam forward and kickstart attacks. It is simple, but it is effective.

A wicked delivery from set-pieces and the odd goal here and there has seen him turn into the complete package over the last 18 months, and although transfer speculation has been thin on the ground in the past, that could well change if his contract situation doesn’t change soon.

Argyle need to wrap their coveted possession up and throw away the key. This is a player that isn’t for sale. He is green and green is him, and he cannot be allowed to follow Cooper out the door.