Plymouth Argyle are set to battle it out against Notts County in a race to sign Burnley prospect Mickey Mellon.
Both clubs are on the lookout for a new striker after sanctioning exits for their previous stars, with the Pilgrims pocketing £4 million from their sale of Lorent Tolaj to Bristol City, while Alassana Jatta was allowed to leave in a move to Portugal.
Mellon Enters The Frame
Argyle have already been active in the transfer market in the wake of the Swiss forward’s exit, with Tom Cleverley already admitting to Plymouth Live that they have had some bids knocked back in the chase of an as-yet unnamed target.
Now, in an update from Alan Nixon through his Patreon channel, another coveted player has been identified in the form of Mickey Mellon, with Burnley weighing up his future ahead of his contract expiring next summer.
The 22-year-old, who has had previous EFL stints with Bradford City and Stockport County, played last season under his father at Oldham Athletic, having a fruitful spell scoring 10 times across 18 appearances.
However, his promising campaign was cut short in December, with a hamstring tear ending his season against Grimsby Town and he returned to Turf Moor to receive treatment.
Nixon notes that Notts County are also in the race, with Burnley demanding a ‘hefty fee’ in order to secure the Scottish forward.
Is Mellon The Right Target For Argyle?
With his father already admitting Oldham Athletic will not be able to re-sign Mickey Mellon amid a host of interest from elsewhere, Plymouth Argyle and Notts County have come to the fore as the leaders in the race for his signature.
For Notts County, their pitch is clear, with the forward certain to arrive at Meadow Lane as their replacement for Alassana Jatta in the wake of his exit to Casa Pia, and Martin Paterson will hope that he can partner Luka Smyth in his quest to recreate the duo of Matthew Dennis and the Gambian which propelled them into League One.
However, for Plymouth Argyle, there could be a question as to whether adding Mellon to their existing options could compromise the development of one of their own rising stars.
Proving to be a more than handy backup to Lorent Tolaj and Aribim Pepple, Owen Oseni had a bright debut campaign in Devon, and with the former now out of the picture, it may indeed be time for Tom Cleverley to entrust the former St. Mirren man with a more regular role.
A new striker is, of course, the number one priority, and given the way he performed at Oldham, Mellon is more than worthy of trying to crack League One after his struggle to break through into the Stockport County team.
Prior to his injury, he looked a cut above the rest of League Two‘s talismen, and across his per-90 stats, he was statistically the best performer in the division in terms of both shots taken and shots put on target.
While Oseni should be handed more time, adding Mellon is a key move to ensuring Plymouth have the adequate depth to navigate what will be a gruelling race for promotion in the third tier, and leave it up to Cleverley to balance minutes.
