Plymouth Argyle will not entertain any offers for Lorent Tolaj or other players during their end-of-season break as interest continues to swirl.
The Swiss forward has been the subject of numerous transfer rumours over the past few months, with Celtic, Leicester City, Rangers and, most recently, Preston North End all linked with moves.
Chief Reveals Stance
The Lilywhites were linked with the former Port Vale man in a report from the Lancashire Evening Post yesterday, with Paul Heckingbottom’s side willing to splash the cash on the 24-year-old should Milutin Osmajic be sold.
Girona and Udinese have both been linked with the Montenegrin international, who could be on his way out at Deepdale with 12 months left on his contract.
However, Preston and others will have to wait until at least the end of this month to even have an offer entertained, with Argyle CEO Paul Berne making the club’s position known on incoming bids.
Speaking to Plymouth Live regarding the interest in Tolaj and others from elsewhere, he said:
“It’s important to say there is no planned sales. The players that we have currently got with us are planned to be with us on day one of pre-season.
“We are in a much better place compared to last year when we had a lot of work to do (on the squad). We have got a lot of players who are in contract already into next year and these are players that we know can do great things in League One.
“It has been great to bring Wes to the club permanently; it’s great to see Alex Hartridge bringing good League One experience to us, and great to see the club captain (Joe Edwards) sign on for another year. Our plan is to be in a really great position as we go into the start of next season.”
Plymouth officially return from their break at the end of next week, with the Pilgrims having booked in their first pre-season friendly in mid-July against local side Plymouth Parkway.
Argyle Still Comfortable
With noise coming from elsewhere for a while now, it has been very encouraging for Plymouth Argyle that Lorent Tolaj has not kicked up a fuss and tried to force a move this summer.
The former Salford City man is under contract until 2029; any potential suitors will have a very steep fee to try and entice a move, with a £3 million figure previously reported.
However, given the noise coming from around the club, a sale is not under consideration at any point this summer as they look to get themselves back into the Championship under Tom Cleverley.
Their chances are certainly bolstered by having Tolaj around, with his goalscoring exploits getting better and better as his first season in Devon wore on and he has built a great rapport with fellow forward Bim Pepple.
So while many will come and try to steal Plymouth’s prized asset from them with seven-figure bids, it is hard to see any offer being successful in this window at least.
