The 5 Plymouth Argyle players set to leave as a free agent this summer | OneFootball

The Pilgrims quintet could well be on their way out of Home Park in the coming months if nothing changes

Plymouth Argyle made great headway in the winter transfer window, with the Greens twice breaking their record-transfer fee to bring in new recruits in the hope of staying in the Championship for a third successive season.

With Michael Baidoo in the door nice and early for a fee that eclipsed that paid for Morgan Whittaker and Bali Mumba in the summer of 2023, the Devon outfit soon added Maxi Taloveirov to their ranks from Austrian outfit LASK, with the Ukrainian said to cost somewhere in the region of £1.7 million.

But with the winter business said and done, attention will already be turning towards the summer, where players’ contracts will be coming to an end and decisions will have to be made regarding who will be staying at Home Park for longer than initially thought.

Argyle have a number of players with their futures up in the air right now, and here we take a look at who could be on their way out by the time July 1 comes along.

Julio Pleguezuelo

Few would have thought Julio Pleguezuelo would have played as much of a prominent role as he has been given in the past few months, given the fact the Spaniard didn’t feature in the Championship until October.

Wayne Rooney obviously didn’t take a shine to the former Arsenal man, but with injuries taking their toll, as well as the departure of Lewis Gibson to Preston North End, Pleguezuelo has since become something of a mainstay in the Argyle backline of late.

Miron Muslic obviously trusts the ex-FC Twente man, as he featured alongside new signings Taloveirov and Nikola Katic as part of a back three that overcame West Bromwich Albion last weekend, but his future beyond the summer still remains in doubt.

There is no doubting how devoted he is to the Pilgrims’ cause right now, but an upgrade in the backline may be required during the off-season, although many decisions will have to be made once the Greens’ fate is sealed one way or the other.

Mustapha Bundu

Having signed a two-year deal in the summer of 2023 alongside Pleguezuelo, Mustapha Bundu is another man playing for his future in green right now.

The Sierra Leone international has been in and out of the side for much of his time as a Pilgrim, with just 20 league starts since his arrival to the club telling its own story, although injuries have also taken their toll over the past 18 months.

The forward is a player who splits opinion, but there is no doubting he gives his all when he gets the chance to perform, and could still have a big part to play between now and the end of the season.

Stay in the Championship and Bundu will more than likely set sail for pastures new, but the forward could still do a job if Argyle drop down into League One when the season comes to a close.

Jordan Houghton

Similar to the rest of the players on this list, Jordan Houghton looked destined for the scrapheap just a matter of weeks ago, but the arrival of Muslic seems to have drawn new life into the former Chelsea midfielder.

The Austrian boss wants his side to be well-drilled and stick to their task in and out of possession, and that is exactly where Houghton thrives, doing the dirty work and allowing Adam Randell to thrive with ball at his feet alongside him, rather than the untreatable Darko Gyabi.

The late arrival of Malachi Boateng from Hearts could put his place under threat over the next few weeks, and that battle for a starting spot in the middle of the park could well decide Houghton’s future, with his two-year contract signed after earning promotion to the Championship coming to an end in less than six months’ time.

Zak Baker

Argyle will have hoped they had the next Michael Cooper within their ranks when Zak Baker signed his first professional contract in 2023, but the young shot-stopper is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Greens.

Having signed a one-year extension to his contract last summer, the 20-year-old may well want to leave Home Park to play regular football this summer, having spent time on loan at Tiverton Town and Plymouth Parkway in the past.

Will Jenkins Davies

Just like last summer, the Pilgrims have a big decision to make on Will Jenkins Davies’ contract this summer, with the playmaker signing a one-year extension to his deal just eight months ago.

Since then, the 20-year-old has been featuring for Torquay United in the National League South, with five goals in as many games over the Christmas period seeing him extend his time at Plainmoor until the end of the season.

While he is yet to show the sort of quality that would see him able to compete in the Championship, there will always be a sense of lingering regret if the forward proved them wrong later in his career, making this summer’s decision a crucial one in so many ways.