Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley has revealed the club have stepped up their search for a new striker ahead of the new season.
The Pilgrims have enjoyed a busy transfer window to date but have been forced to alter their preparations following the sale of talisman Lorent Tolaj to Bristol City last week. The 24-year-old only made the move to the south coast last summer after completing a £1.1 million deal from Port Vale.
The attacker’s exploits in front of goal earned him an admirer in the form of new Robins manager Michael Skubala. The Championship outfit’s offer of over £4 million were enough to tempt Plymouth into selling their prized asset.
Replacing Tolaj Goals ‘Isn’t Easy’
Plymouth are gearing up for their second season in League One after missing out on a place in the play-offs on the final day in May. They are one of the favourites to secure promotion this time around but know they need to fill the slot left by Tolaj.
Cleverley revealed last week that a part of the fee received for the former Switzerland youth international will be reinvested in the squad. Following Saturday’s pre-season 1-0 win over Truro City, the ex-Manchester United and England midfielder admitted it won’t be easy to find a ready-made replacement. Speaking to Plymouth Live, he said:
“We have got to replace 21 goals and eight assists, which isn’t easy, but the spine of the team looks strong.
“That gives you a platform of being hard to beat, which is a big thing to have at these levels. We know the key thing is a bit more creativity, and the goals we have lost with Tolly going needs replacing, and there is a lot of hard work going into that.
“I’m not one that has a specific way of doing that. Is it one from abroad? Is it trying to develop one from lower leagues? Is it one in the Championship and maybe not playing at that level?”
Continuing, Cleverley admitted he hopes the right man can be found soon whilst reiterating a lot of hard work is going into the search:
“We will get the very best striker there is out there to replace those goals and the club are on board with that. We are working hard to make sure that happens as quick as possible because we want to click as soon as possible.”
Can Plymouth Afford To Wait?
Replacing Tolaj is undoubtedly a tough task, but they do still have Bim Pepple at their disposal. The former Luton Town man was also prolific last season, although this has led to further transfer speculation.
The likes of Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield United have been linked and a further exit would be a huge headache for Cleverley. However, that won’t be a major concern just yet.
Clearly work is going on behind the scenes and there will be a hope that a new attacker arrives through the door before the first league game of the campaign on August 15th. That was a mistake they made last year when they signed Tolaj four games into the season, having lost all four prior to his arrival.
The counter argument to that is that the Pilgrims clearly found the right man, although it did leave them playing catch up. Considering they missed out on the play-offs by just two points; it was one they were left to rue.
