Plymouth Argyle have been handed a major boost in their hopes of retaining Aribim Pepple in a new update on his transfer situation.
A report from Darren Witcoop yesterday stated that Portsmouth were ready to ramp up their interest in the Canadian international in a potential double blow for the Pilgrims after news that Lorent Tolaj is set to be sold to Bristol City.
Initial Report Quashed
Now, in an update from the Portsmouth News, it has been confirmed that the report that Pompey is intensifying their pursuit of Pepple is wide of the mark.
Interest in the forward has been ramping up towards the summer from several Championship sides. Lincoln City were one such club tied with a potential move for the 23-year-old, alongside Norwich City and Watford back in May, according to the Daily Mail.
Witcoop had previously linked Bolton Wanderers as another destination at last week, but that was promptly shot down by The Bolton News’ Marc Iles.
It is still believed that Pompey are admirers of the former Luton Town man, who scored 18 times in 41 appearances in his debut campaign at Home Park, but no efforts have been made as of yet to sign the striker.
After signing a new goalkeeper in the form of Murphy Cooper, it is now unclear where Argyle’s latest transfer priorities lie, having previously admitted they were not planning on any player departures prior to Tolaj’s exit.
Sigh Of Relief For Argyle
With Lorent Tolaj on his way out for a £4 million fee, it is now crucial that Plymouth Argyle retain the other part of their striking duo, which changed their fortunes from a relegation contender to falling agonisingly short of the playoffs by the end of the season.
Managing to step up during a month-long absence for the Swiss forward, Bim Pepple continued the positive momentum that Tom Cleverley’s side had in their favour, and a sale of both him and Lorent Tolaj would seriously threaten their fortunes for next season.
While interest is certain to continue throughout the summer from elsewhere, and given that it has previously been stated that the club are under no pressure to sell, retaining their other talismanic striker is pivotal.
However, what remains to be seen is what Argyle’s next steps are in to replacing Tolaj, as they could have the perfect option already at the club in Owen Oseni, who had a promising debut season in Devon and should be set to play a much larger role going forward.
2 responses
I think Oseni should get his chance along side Pepple. If either of these leave after Tolaj then there will be some major head scratching after it was said that there was no pressure to sell? Tolaj’s fee doesn’t really come under the category of ” an exceptional fee would be needed” ? £4m seems unexceptional to me for a player of his calibre, despite only playing in league one! I hope Tolaj’s money will in part be used for player investment and not covering the financial shortfall of last season.
Still think that Tolaj is worth more than 4m and I had hoped that he was going to stay at least this season – disappointing.