"A lot of money" - Plymouth Argyle: Miron Muslic makes Morgan Whittaker claim as Burnley circle | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic has opened up on forward Morgan Whittaker's future at the club amid interest from Burnley.

Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic has refused to rule out the possibility of forward Morgan Whittaker leaving the club this month amid interest from Championship rivals Burnley.

After a successful loan spell at Home Park in the first half of the 2022-23 season, Whittaker re-joined Plymouth on a permanent basis last summer for a reported fee of around £1 million plus add-ons, which made him the club's record signing at the time.

Whittaker scored a remarkable 20 goals and provided eight assists in 50 games last season to help the Pilgrims to Championship survival, and despite being linked with the likes of Burnley, Fulham, Brentford, Lazio and Rangers in the summer, he remained in Devon.

It has been a much quieter season for Whittaker this time around, with the 24-year-old scoring just four goals in 21 games so far, but that has not prevented Burnley from reigniting their interest, and the Clarets are said to have had a bid rejected for the attacker earlier this week, with their offer falling well short of Argyle's valuation.

Journalist Alex Crook claimed that Hull City also had a bid turned down for Whittaker, but while those reports were later dismissed by Hull Live, it seems the Championship's bottom club are once again facing a battle to hold on to their star man.

Miron Muslic on Morgan Whittaker's Plymouth Argyle future

New Plymouth boss Muslic admitted that he is keen to keep hold of Whittaker this month, and he insisted that he has no doubts about the forward's commitment amid increasing transfer speculation, but he did not shut down talk that he could depart before the end of the window.

"It's not about how much I want to keep him for the club it's also what's the best for Morgan. I think he's a fantastic football player," Muslic told Plymouth Live.

"He's a player who can have one individual moment and decide the game for us. That's quality. Normally those guys cost a lot of money. I think the Brentford goal, that's what you get with Morgan. He can finish the game for you or kill the opponent. That makes him super interesting for a lot of other clubs.

"I like players who have ambitions and we will see then what's the best for Morgan and what's the best for us. Right now I consider him fully, fully as an Argyle player.

"Everything I saw so far over the last three, four or five days, very professional. Not one talk between us was about moving or transfer, it was about ambition, achieving goals, what we can achieve right now.

"I have a very good first impression of Morgan. I know it's busy for him because I think in the background something is going on but that's normal if you have this quality and you are that kind of profile. It's just normal, but he's very professional and he can deal with that."

Morgan Whittaker exit would be a devastating blow for Miron Muslic and Plymouth Argyle

With Plymouth currently sitting bottom of the Championship table, three points from safety, they simply cannot afford to lose Whittaker this month, and his exit would make Muslic's already difficult task significantly harder.

Whittaker may have struggled to hit the same heights as last season, but as he showed in the 1-0 win at Brentford in the FA Cup on Saturday, he is still capable of coming up with moments of quality that could help to keep the Pilgrims in the division.

Argyle will likely set a high valuation as they look to keep hold of Whittaker, but Burnley have vast financial resources after a host of big money departures in the summer, and the Clarets could return with an improved proposal.