New Look Front Line the Key to Argyle's Success
Tom Harris assesses Argyle's latest attacking signings, as the club looks to improve on their 21st placed finish in the Championship last season.
By Tom Harris
This season’s transfer activity shows Argyle are out to combat the extreme lack of depth they had in attacking areas in the 2023/24 campaign.
The decision to not get another forward through the door before the January transfer window closed almost proved costly as Argyle survived their first season back in the Championship on the final day of the season.
That’s not to say attempts weren’t made. A move for Reading’s Femi Azeez was strongly mentioned in the final hours of deadline day though never materialised, while rumours of former Liverpool man Ovie Ejaria joining on a free agent never came to fruition.
That left Argyle with limited options in the final third, and as such saw Ryan Hardie and Morgan Whittaker playing week in, week out, with no opportunity for rest. Fatigue combined with a failing coach in Ian Foster meant that by the end of the season, the goalscoring outputs for the pair had dried up.
Whittaker’s last goal of the season, his 20th, was a header away to Norwich in a game that finished 2-1 to the Canaries, while Hardie’s 13th and final of the campaign came in a 2-0 away win at Middlesbrough. Perhaps the drought that followed was enough to convince Scotland boss Steve Clarke that there was no place for the Pilgrims’ number 9 on the plane to Euro 2024.
The few other attacking options struggled to make much of an impact. Ben Waine struggled as a lone striker during the Foster era while Mustapha Bundu failed to nail down a regular spot in the team due to injuries. His solo magic did give Argyle a valuable three points over Leicester, however, a pivotal moment in Argyle’s fight to stay in the league.
Clearly, with a new season on the horizon and a new manager known for an attacking pedigree in his playing days, something needed to change. The front line has been completely revamped since the beginning of the transfer window with the addition of two new attackers, both on loan deals.
Imposing forward Muhamed Tijani, who has signed on loan from SK Slavia Prague, offers Argyle a completely different outlet up top. He provides a physical quality they lacked during the 23/24 season. The forward made quite the impression in pre-season training, and will be bolstered by his brace against Cheltenham where Argyle came from a goal down to win 5-1.
Ibrahim Cissoko followed soon after, joining Argyle on their Marbella pre-season training camp. On loan from Toulouse for the season, the winger made an instant impact on debut against Orlando Pirates. Within a minute of entering the field, he skilfully made his way to the byline before setting up Callum Wright to score in what was an eventual 2-2 draw. Again, like Tijani, notching with a back-post header against Cheltenham should be good for his confidence.
These additions, with perhaps more to come, have given Argyle an energetic edge and consequentially will give Wayne Rooney a more choice to select from when it comes to picking his line-ups during the Championship season.
Argyle will also hope to retain Morgan Whittaker, who has caught the eye of clubs including Rangers, Wolves and Lazio. Alongside him, Argyle’s forwards will be chomping at the bit to fight for a starting place. And should Argyle lose their number 10, they’ll be in a good position to reinvest some of that money in another forward.
As it stands Whittaker, Bundu, Cissoko, Tijani, Hardie, Isaaka, Waine and Bali Mumba (if played as a winger rather than at full back) can all count themselves in the battle to be among the attacking options.
It’s well known in football that competition for places can bring out the best in players, and whether it be from the start or off the bench, Argyle now have far more exciting attacking options to be enthusiastic about.
Furthermore, as Argyle enter the latter stages of the campaign, wherever in the table they may be, having more options in forward positions will serve as a huge positive. It should also reduce the likelihood of the burnout that fans saw in 23/24.
With the transfer window still open, it’ll be interesting to see where Argyle strengthen next and if they can hold onto their top men for what they hope will be a season of attacking football, goals galore and an improvement on last season’s 21st placed finish.