Plymouth Argyle fans will need no reminder that the January transfer window is open, with Fin Azaz having already departed the club and Luke Cundle seemingly not too far behind him, it has been far from the ideal start to the window for the Pilgrims
There are also rumours that on-loan midfielder Lewis Warrington is unhappy with his lack of game-time and will be recalled by Everton in the coming weeks.
Even before the disaster start to the transfer window it had become evident that the Pilgrims would need to bolster their squad, sitting perilously close to the relegation zone for the majority of the season so far.
This chaos comes mere weeks after the Greens lost their manager Steven Schumacher to relegation rivals Stoke City meaning this window takes place with a backdrop of managerial uncertainty. Neil Dewsnip has become caretaker manager with the help of Kevin Nancekivell whilst the club searches for a new head coach.
It goes without saying that this coming month is vital in ensuring Argyle go into the 24/25 season a championship club.
1) MATTIE POLLOCK – CB
It has been glaringly obvious for some time now that the Greens must tighten up at the back. Only two other clubs in the division have a worse defensive record than Argyle, bottom side Rotherham and 17th place Blackburn Rovers.
Whilst Lewis Gibson has thrived this season in the back three, the same cannot be said about Dan Scarr. Julio Pleguezuelo has shown promise but is still taking time to adapt to the physicality of the league. Brendan Galloway and Macauley Gillesphey are both yet to have a real run in the team to prove their worth due to ongoing injury issues.
Therefore, Argyle must make signing a central defender a top priority for the January transfer window.
One player that should be targeted is Watford’s Mattie Pollock. The 22-year-old stands at 6ft 3’ and could slot into the middle of the back three.
Having spent the 21/22 season on loan in League One with Cheltenham Town and the second-half of 22/23 on loan in Scotland with Aberdeen, 23/24 was the season in which Pollock was supposed to cement his place in the Watford defence.
However, this hasn’t happened due to Valerien Ismael’s preference of Wesley Hoedt and Ryan Porteous, meaning Pollock has just played 86 minutes all season.
Frustrated with his lack of game time, you would imagine he would jump at the opportunity for regular championship minutes.
You would also like to think Watford would be open to this move as it would allow Pollock to continue his development in the same division his parent club play at allowing a smooth transition into their starting XI if/when Hoedt or Porteous move on, get injured or fall out of favour.
2) ELLIOTT MOORE – CB
Another central defender Argyle should go after is Oxford United captain Elliott Moore.
Currently in his fifth season with Oxford at League One level it’s only a matter of time before the 26-year-old takes the step up to the second-tier.
Similar to Pollock, Moore is a tall player standing at 6’5″’, unsurprisingly boasting a 71.7% aerial duel success rate so far this campaign ranking in the top 3% of players in this metric.
He is just as good when the ball is on the grass though, with a 69% of all duels won. Another strongpoint is that he is very comfortable with the ball, playing in a possession-based side, which Argyle are.
Having signed a new long-term deal with the U’s back in September a sizeable fee would be required for Oxford to let him go but I do not believe this would not be a bridge too far for Argyle.
You would also feel that the player would want this move as, whilst Oxford are in the play-offs, they are still unlikely to be promoted. Moore is heading into the prime years of his career he will want to test himself in the Championship, a league he has not played in before.
3) NICKY CADDEN – LWB
Nicky Cadden is another defender Argyle should look to sign in the January transfer window.
The 27-year-old currently in his second season with Barnsley having signed from Forest Green Rovers in July 2022 after two seasons with the Gloucestershire club.
Nicknamed ‘the flying Scotsman’ Cadden is an industrious left-wing back who loves to venture forward and threaten with his magical left-foot.
Cadden’s attacking output speaks for itself, 32 goal contributions (goals+assists) across his past three campaigns. That includes his remarkable 21/22 season, in which he registered six goals and 12 assists from wing-back helping Forest Green win the League Two title.
This is backed up when you look at the stats, 0.17 assists per 90 and 1.46 chances created per game, impressive numbers from a wingback. He would obviously slot straight into Argyle’s system having played as part of a back five for most of his career now.
Cadden’s current deal with Barnsley runs out this coming summer so it’s likely the Tykes would be willing to do a cut-rate deal to prevent one of their star players walking away for nothing at the end of the season.
4) TIM IROEGBUNAM – CM
Looking slightly further up the pitch, the next player Argyle must sign is Aston Villa’s Tim Iroegbunam.
The combative midfielder has been linked with a move away from Birmingham this January with many clubs in the second tier keeping tabs on the 20-year-old.
Iroegbunam spent last season on loan at QPR where he showcased both his technical and physical capabilities.
The Pilgrims look as though they will be in need of at least one central midfielder this window as both Luke Cundle and Lewis Warrington look set to be recalled from their loan spells at Home Park.
It’s been widely reported that Villa are willing to let the England youth international go either permanently or on loan in January.
Whilst Argyle may not have the financial might to buy him outright, they certainly have a chance of securing a loan deal.
If rumours are to be believed Argyle will appoint former England U20s boss Ian Foster in the coming days, someone who worked with Iroegbunam for years in the international setup.
This could be just what it takes to lure the midfield maestro down to Devon and fend off interest from elsewhere in the Championship.
5) ANDREAS WEIMANN – AM
Another player that needs to be replaced this window is the outgoing Azaz. Seven goals and five assists in 21 starts is impressive for a player in their debut season in the second-tier and won’t be easy to replace.
Therefore, I think Argyle must target out-of-favour Bristol City forward Andreas Weimann to fill that void.
Having scored 65 goals in the championship thus far in his career, including his remarkable 22 goal campaign in 21/22 which saw him finish third place in the golden boot race behind only Aleksander Mitrovic and Dominic Solanke, he is truely proven at this level.
Weimann has more to his game than just putting the ball in the back of the net though. In recent seasons he has played behind the strikers in Bristol City’s 3-4-1-2 formation with an added responsability of creating chances.
This is similar to Azaz in a sense of looking to create chances for teammates whilst still being able to put the ball in the back of the net himself.
Like Cadden, Weimann is out of contract this coming summer and it doesn’t seem likely that either him or Bristol City will want to extend, with the forward having only started nine games in 23/24.
Therefore, Bristol City could look to cash in and receive a small fee for the 32-year-old, freeing space for them to bolster their squad ahead of a potential playoff push in the second-half of the season.
6) LEWIS DOBBIN – ST
One final I believe Argyle must try to sign this window is Everton striker Lewis Dobbin.
Coming off the back of a successful loan spell at Derby County in League One, Dobbin came back to Goodison Park last summer with the aim of breaking into the Toffees first team squad.
He did manage to do this, coming off the bench and scoring in the Premier League at the start of December.
However, he hasn’t managed to kick on since then only going on to make one more substitute appearance since.
Therefore, it is likely Everton will look to loan him back out for the second-half of the campaign to further his development.
Home Park would be the perfect environment to do this as he will be playing in an attacking side that creates plenty of chances as proven with only the divisions’ top four sides scoring more goals than Argyle this season.
Dewsnip’s links to Everton would make this deal easier to do as he spent 17 years working in the academy of the Merseyside club and will have connections all over the club.
Another reason that this deal would be beneficial to Argyle is that it would allow Ben Waine to be loaned out to a team further down the pyramid, continuing his development whilst not leaving the first-team short of striker options.
There you go Argyle fans, there are six names for you to ponder, would you like to see any of them in green? There is no debate that this coming month is one of the biggest and most important in recent times for the club. However, I believe if these six players joined the club over the next 31 days the Greens will be just okay and will extend their stay in England’s second tier.