Plymouth Argyle: Andre Gray’s play may result in a new contract with Burnley and Morgan Whittaker
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.
Since relocating to Home Park in October, Grey has scored three goals, and his outstanding play has already made him the team’s joint-top scorer for the year.
He allows Wayne Rooney the freedom to employ a variety of tactics and brings with him a wealth of goal-scoring experience at this level. On Friday, in Portsmouth’s 2-2 draw with Watford, he fielded a 3-4-1-2 formation, which he felt was effective.
Rooney says that by using this system, he can get more players into the box and increase his team’s attacking ability, but he may be giving up some of the qualities that made Morgan Whittaker so exceptional in the first place.
When Whittaker hobbled off Friday night due to an injury, Plymouth supporters must be worried about what lies next.
Andre Gray’s form could make Plymouth Argyle more comfortable selling Morgan Whittaker
Grey, a former Birmingham player, might be assisting his former employers by scoring goals as well as he is in certain peculiar circumstances.
One may argue that Whittaker’s goal-scoring load is reduced and that his exit may be possible if his form holds up and, as anticipated, he signs a Plymouth contract to play past January.
| Morgan Whittaker’s 2023/24 Championship stats (FBRef) | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 46 |
| Starts | 45 |
| Goals | 19 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Goals/90 | 0.43 |
| Shots/90 | 3.79 |
| Shots on target/90 | 1.45 |
| Shots per goal | 9.1 |
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 lineBurnley is obviously a big fan of Whittaker, as evidenced by the two offers they turned down for him during the summer as they looked to strengthen their front line.
However, given the Clarets’ ongoing offensive difficulties, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them return in January. In that case, Plymouth would have to decide whether to cash in now or hold onto their star player for the remainder of the season.
Given that Plymouth is in the midst of a fiercely contested relegation battle and that Whittaker is still an important member of the Plymouth team despite his performances not yet matching those of last season, Plymouth supporters would expect it to be the former of those options.
However, given Gray’s current goal-scoring pace and extensive history of performing at this level,
Burnley are desperate for some attacking prowess after lacklustre start to 2024-25
No Plymouth supporter will find that appealing, especially because Whittaker’s contract is set to expire in 2027, so any move may fetch a hefty price tag.
Burnley may be willing to pay that hefty sum because they are in dire need of attackers in their fight for promotion. Additionally, January is generally seen as a seller’s window rather than a buyer’s season, so Portsmouth may be motivated to take advantage of Gray’s form.
Burnley is anticipated to spend money on bolstering their team in January after recently leaving the Premier League and is eager to return there as soon as possible. Whittaker may be at the top of their wish list.
Given that Neil Dewsnip, Argyle’s director of football, has previously hinted that they could eventually need to sell in order to “keep Plymouth Argyle going in the direction we want it to do,” Plymouth might definitely try to take advantage of that.
Burnley will undoubtedly aim to gain from that in January, but in order to do so, they will most likely need to come up with a greater offer than the loan-to-buy offers they saw turned down during the summer.
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply