A major Plymouth Argyle figure suggests a bold striker before the January transfer window opens…

Neil Dewsnip, the director of football at Plymouth Argyle, has stated that the Pilgrims don’t need to add another striker during the January transfer window.

 

Plymouth Argyle is now ranked 19th in the championship standings, and the busy holiday season is quickly approaching. In general, the Pilgrims’ advancement has been impeded by defensive shortcomings, while their strengths have been in a forward direction.

But for now, Steven Schumacher, the manager, is struggling with a striker deficit. Ben Waine and adolescent sensation Freddie Issaka are currently the only obvious choices at the top, with Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu both out.

It has inevitably resulted in requests for the signing of a striker in January. That one, though, might not be signed.

As quoted by Plymouth Live, Plymouth Argyle’s director of football, Dewsnip, explained that another striker may not be needed given the frequent deployment of just one central forward this season. He said:

“We played with two center-forwards a lot last year, if you remember. This season our go-to formation has been two wide players, obviously Bali [Mumba] and Morgan [Whittaker], and one front player.

“I have picked up a lot of people saying, ‘We haven’t got four front players this year; we have only got three’. Well, logically, you don’t need the fourth one. Maybe we don’t numerically need another one.”

 

To be argued

Dewsnip makes a valid argument. Plymouth Argyle will have three strikers to cover one starting slot once Hardie and Bundu return. The addition of another would make their attacking unit a little too crowded and would probably reduce the amount of playing time that youngster Issaka receives.

Schumacher would feel more at ease knowing that he has an additional alternative at the top of the pitch should injuries worsen later in the window. Moreover, it would imply that cover would be required should the Pilgrims manager want to revert to the two-striker configuration he used in the previous campaign.

It remains to be seen just what Plymouth Argyle’s winter recruitment plans do entail. But for now, it seems a striker signing isn’t at the forefront of director Dewsnip’s thinking as the club look to maintain their place in the Championship.