Plymouth Argyle: Ryan Hardie can be the true winner from Pilgrims swoop: View | OneFootball

The Scot struggled in front of goal in last season's run-in, but that could be changed with Argyle's summer transfer business

Plymouth Argyle have moved to address their troubles in front of goal from the previous campaign, with Wayne Rooney’s side bringing in a number of reinforcements in the final third of the field.

Exciting wide man Ibrahim Cissoko has joined on a season-long loan deal from Toulouse, while Darko Gyabi has been borrowed from Leeds United for the second successive season, after his time at Home Park was cut short through injury earlier this year.

The Greens have also brought in a third loanee ahead of the 24/25 campaign, with Muhamed Tijani making the move to Home Park from Czech side Slavia Prague for the following 12 months.

While the Pilgrims will be buoyed by the frontman’s arrival, his signing could also help to ease the burden on his new teammate Ryan Hardie for the upcoming campaign, which could act as a further benefit from the Nigerian’s arrival.

Pressure on Ryan Hardie will ease after Muhamed Tijani moves to Plymouth Argyle

Hardie typified Argyle’s issues in the final third throughout the second-half of the previous campaign, with the Scot failing to find the back of the net in any of his final 12 matches of the season.

Despite netting 12 times last season, his last strike came in a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough at The Riverside, in which he scored an exquisite lob from outside the penalty area to double his side’s advantage, but since then, the quality dried up from both player and team in the season’s final stretches.

In fact, that Teesside treat was the last time that the Greens scored more than once in the 23/24 campaign, which heaped even more pressure on Hardie and his teammates as the battle against relegation continued.

With loanees Finn Azaz and Luke Cundle returning to their respective clubs in the January transfer window, Argyle were left light in the forward positions for the second-half of the campaign, with much of the threat in the final third falling on Hardie, or Morgan Whittaker’s shoulders.

As a result, teams were able to mark the pair out of the game, and consequently thwart much of the Greens’ threat going forward, with the Scot cutting a frustrated figure, who looked ever-increasingly low in confidence.

With only Ben Waine in reserve, there wasn’t even much chance to rotate Hardie when needed, with the New Zealand international offering next to nothing during his time on the pitch, apart from a work ethic that continues to endear him to the Argyle faithful.

But the introduction of Tijani will see Hardie given a run for his money for the number nine role in the season ahead, which he didn’t really have in the previous 12 months.

The Slavia Prague loanee could also see Argyle adopt a different style of play in the season to come, with his height giving a different option as the team goes forward, which could lend itself to more crosses being swung into the box.

No team in the second tier attempted less than the Greens’ 626 deliveries from wide positions in the previous campaign, and the recruitment team at Home Park have looked to address that issue with their recruitment this summer.

Orlando Pirates test gives early indicator of Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle plans

Argyle began their pre-season campaign last week, as they took on South African side Orlando Pirates during their training camp in Marbella.

The Pilgrims came from behind twice thanks to goals from Freddie Issaka and Callum Wright to salvage a 2-2 draw in the Spanish resort, and the match gave us a chance to see Rooney’s Argyle team in action for the first time.

Tijani was given a starting role in Friday’s affair, and from the outset it looked as if Argyle were lining up with two strikers up top, with Waine also featuring from the start in a new-look side.

So often last season, Hardie would have a lack of support when the Greens were attacking, but with Tijani’s arrival and a change in system, those issues could be a thing of the past, with the target man likely to be the focal point of attacks in the year ahead.

If the Nigerian can link up with his teammates and bring others into play, he could prove to be exactly what Hardie needs to thrive in the season ahead, with opposition defenders having their hands full, with his strike partner’s physical presence in and around the penalty area.