The 23-year-old paid a £1 million transfer fee to Swansea City to join the Pilgrims last summer. In his 46 Championship games, he scored 19 goals and helped the team just miss relegation. This followed a fruitful loan stint with Home Park in the latter half of the 2022–2023 season, where he scored nine goals in nine games to win the League One championship.
Due to Whittaker’s performance, Serie A powerhouse Lazio expressed interest in him in January but ultimately had their bid for the winger rejected. Director of football Neil Dewsnip stated at the time that the team was adamant they had no plans to sell:
“Lazio made us an official bid for Morgan last night. Following internal discussion and consultation with the player’s representation, the offer was promptly turned down. We continue to emphasise that Morgan is not for sale and that he is quite happy at Argyle.
Before the new season begins, Wayne Rooney will take Ian Foster’s place at the team, and the former England international is eager to get started right away. He is aware that fending off the vultures will be his biggest task during his early reign.
According to reports that surfaced earlier this week, Lazio is still interested in the former Lincoln City loanee. However, Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers of the Premier League, Stuttgart of the Bundesliga, and Celta Vigo of Spain are all pursuing the Italians.
As the preseason starts to take shape, the 38-year-old has taken leadership of his first training sessions this week. Rooney discussed the connections with Plymouth Live.
“Morgan entered the preseason the same way as everyone else. He’s a fantastic player, no doubt about it, and he’s trained rather well, I have to say with a smile on his face.
“I want to try to move forward with Morgan, but from our perspective, he’s an Argyle player, so I’m sure there will be bids and interest in him.” Naturally, as a club, you have to consider that if you are receiving outrageous offers, but we want him here. We desire for him to be a member of the team.
While Plymouth continues to insist that the player is not for sale, there were rumours earlier this year that a move would be approved should a price of £15 million be made.
Author’s Perspective
Plymouth will have a hard time holding onto Whittaker come summer. It is evident that several Premier League and continental clubs value him highly, and the majority of them would have no issue paying the Pilgrims’ asking price. The attacker is popular at Home Park, though, so he could want to wait for another season to finish refining his skills where he feels most at ease before looking for new chances.
With a football legend like Wayne Rooney leading the team, interest in the team will rise. If his performances stay up, he might get interest from larger teams now that there are more eyes on the team. In the upcoming months, it will be intriguing to watch how Plymouth responds to any anticipated bids and, more significantly, how the player responds.
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