Celtic want Plymouth Argyle star: Derby County, Sheffield United and Swansea should join the mix | OneFootball

These three Championship clubs should join the race for Plymouth's Aribim Pepple

Tom Cleverley has turned the ship around in Devon, with Plymouth Argyle going from relegation contenders to top-six candidates after undergoing an excellent period of form.

The Pilgrims began the season in difficult circumstances, and indeed so did Cleverley, with the club having to deal with the sudden departure of Bosnian boss Miron Muslic following relegation and Cleverley coming into a side experiencing a large amount of turnover.

Between mid-October and mid-November, Plymouth lost six games on the bounce in all competitions, with it looking almost certain that Cleverley would lose his job.

However, owner Simon Hallett stuck by the former Manchester United and Everton midfielder, a decision which looks to have paid dividends.

Plymouth's recent 5-2 home victory over title favourites Cardiff City is indicative of the club's turnaround, with one player in particular drawing interest from teams across Europe and in the Championship.

Celtic are reportedly leading the race for Canadian striker Aribim Pepple, with the 23-year-old in the form of his life at Home Park following his permanent move from Luton Town in the summer.

Though Celtic will face strong competition for Pepple’s signature, with FLW taking a look at a few sides in the division above who may also be interested in him this summer.

Derby County

Similar to Plymouth, Derby County underwent a summer of mass turnover in their playing squad under the guidance of John Eustace, and also, similarly to the Pilgrims, Derby began the season in dismal fashion.

Just one win in their opening ten league games has alarm bells ringing at Pride Park, but Eustace has since stamped his authority on the Rams squad and catapulted them into play-off contention in the second tier.

Star striker Patrick Agyemang, who only joined in the summer from MLS side Charlotte, has been the subject of interest from Premier League side Leeds United recently, raising concerns over a potential summer exit.

Should the USMNT forward indeed jump ship this summer, it would leave a vacancy up top at Pride Park, which would need to be filled, and Pepple could be the perfect option.

Strong, quick, and having ample time to improve upon his area of weaknesses, the Canadian could be a real coup for Eustace and Derby, who will hope Carlton Morris can rub off on him and turn him into a real threat at Championship level.

Sheffield United

A similar trend seems to be appearing here, as Sheffield United also got off to a horrific start to the campaign, arguably worse than either Derby or Plymouth.

A summer which saw Ruben Selles replace Chris Wilder in the Bramall Lane dugout, followed by a scattergun transfer approach which yielded six defeats in their opening six games, the Spaniard was dismissed and replaced by Wilder once more.

Wilder, clearly unhappy with the loss of Kieffer Moore and lack of replacement, signed Patrick Bamford on a free transfer to come in and be their main talisman, with each of Tom Cannon, Tyrese Campbell, and Danny Ings all struggling in front of goal.

Bamford has impressed since his arrival, but at 32, his long-term presence in South Yorkshire is in doubt, and the Blades may look for a long-term heir in the summer, with Pepple fitting the mould.

The Canadian would provide the physical presence that Wilder likes from his centre-forwards, whilst adding strong competition to the likes of Cannon and Campbell up front; the Blades would be wise to get their noses in front of Celtic this summer.

Swansea City

Swansea City currently have the Championship's top goalscorer in their ranks in the form of Slovenian striker Zan Vipotnik, so a striker would seem low down on Vitor Matos’ agenda heading into the summer.

However, Vipotnik has been the subject of interest from numerous Premier League sides as of late, with the likes of West Ham tracking his progress in the second tier.

In the event of an exit at the end of this season, Vipotnik would leave a huge void up front, with doubts over whether either Adam Idah or Liam Cullen could fill it.

With a new forward likely to come in should Vipotnik leave, Swansea and Matos could do a lot worse than go after Plymouth’s Pepple, who would be a low-risk, high-reward option that likely wouldn’t break the bank.

With Celtic and numerous other sides across the second tier as competition, a deal won’t be easy, but the Swans should do everything they can to convince Pepple to switch from the south of England to the south of Wales this summer and fill the boots of Vipotnik, should the Slovenian leave.