The Leeds United midfielder is on loan to the Pilgrims for a second season and recently made his debut for England under-21s
Plymouth Argyle have made a success of signing players on loan as they have risen from League Two to the Championship, and then stayed there last season, but that approach comes at one particular risk.
Loan players can be recalled in the January transfer window and at the start of 2024 the Pilgrims lost the trio of Finn Azaz, Luke Cundle and Kaine Kelser-Hayden within a matter of a few days.
Argyle currently have four players on loan, although two of them – Toulouse winger Ibrahim Cissoko and Slavia Prague striker Muhamed Tijani are both currently long-term injury absentees.
The other pair of loanees are Leeds United midfielder Darko Gyabi, who also had a loan spell at Argyle in the second half of last season until he suffered a groin injury, and Burnley striker Michael Obafemi.
Having loan players recalled in the January transfer window is a possibility that cannot be avoided completely but the Pilgrims have looked at ways to try to prevent it. Director of football Neil Dewsnip told a Plymouth Argyle Cornish Supporters’ Association fans’ forum in St Dennis earlier this week about that.
On Argyle’s use of loan players, Dewsnip said: “I hope you would agree over the last six seasons that has been a major strategy we have used to get to where we currently are. It also drives you crackers doesn’t it, because they are not ours.
“How do we sort of protect ourselves? Therefore, it is stipulated in every contract we sign that the parent clubs have the right to reclaim their players if they decide (not Argyle) that they want them back (in January).
“Initially, the contracts will be written through the length of the transfer window. Where we are currently at is we negotiate, if we can, the least period of time that they can return.
For instance, Leeds can call upon Darko Gyabi from January 1st to January 7th. However, they are unable to do so after the seventh. I would want to believe that we are defending ourselves, but in really, they are not ours.
In October, Dewsnip told Plymouth Live that if another team were to bid for the Dutch under-21 international during the January transfer window, Argyle would have the first dibs on Cissoko.
“We have an agreement with Toulouse that if another club wanted to buy him they would come to speak to us first,” the football director reiterated at the fans’ conference. “His injury has only had the advantage of making his profile extremely low at the moment.
“He is our most creative player, according to all the data, and he was the top goal scorer at the time of his injury. It was a tremendous blow. I’m just going to guess no-one is going to come and try to take him away from us in the transfer window – don’t hold me to that please.”
Azaz was having an excellent 2023/24 season for Argyle until he was recalled by Villa at the start of January and sold to Middlesbrough, for whom he has has scored five goals and had three assists in his last three matches. He has also gone to to be play at senior international level for the Republic of Ireland.
Dewsnip said at the fans’ forum: “We all loved him. However, if Aston Villa want to bring him back with a view to selling him for money that we didn’t have at that moment in time – and we still don’t have that kind of money they (Middlesbrough) paid – then that means he’s going to go.
“How may one obtain a second Finn Azaz? We do, however, always prepare for the possibilities. What if he leaves? That includes both loaned and contracted players. What I’m worried we haven’t done is we haven’t replaced Finn yet. We made an effort. We are still trying but he’s a really good player – a really good player that we could get on loan for buttons but he was never ours.
He had a great time at Argyle. If we could have afforded him, I’m sure he would have signed with Argyle. His salary at Middlesbrough is far, far higher than any of our existing players’, but I won’t tell you how much it is.”
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