Football League World
·18. September 2024
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·18. September 2024
Callum Wright can still have an impact at Home Park this season, after a move to Sincil Bank failed to materialise
As the summer transfer window edged into its final few days, it looked for all the world like Callum Wright was set to leave Plymouth Argyle.
Lincoln City were the side said to be interested in taking the 24-year-old off of the Pilgrims' hands, with The Sun journalist Alan Nixon reporting the Imps’ interest via his Patreon service.
But with Argyle struggling to get reinforcements in that attacking midfield role until late in the window, Wright remained at Home Park, with Rami Al Hajj a late addition to the Greens’ creative ranks on deadline day.
That decision could prove to have an impact on Argyle’s campaign in the run up to Christmas and beyond, with the former Blackpool man likely to continue to get Championship minutes for Wayne Rooney’s outfit.
New recruit Al Hajj may have only been on the pitch for the final half hour in the weekend’s clash with Sunderland, but the Swede made an immediate impact in his role behind the striker.
The 23-year-old’s ability to find space in between midfield and attack immediately began to cause issues for the previously unbeaten Black Cats, with the Pilgrims turning the game in their favour with two late goals after he entered the field.
Wright will be well aware that the deadline day signing from Odense has arrived at Home Park in the hope of taking his spot in the number ten role, and will be doing all he can to maintain a place in Rooney’s thoughts for the season ahead.
In what was his first start of the season in the Championship, the playmaker struggled to make much of an impact against Regis Le Bris’ side, with the Mackems restricting his output for much of the first-half.
But with their boss’s words still ringing in their ears from halftime, the Greens came out firing in the second-half, with Wright’s blocked shot eventually leading to the equaliser, as Morgan Whittaker’s volley rebounded into the net off the unfortunate Dan Ballard.
While he may fail to deliver in the final third on occasion, the energy of the ex-Leicester City man can never be faulted, as he gives his all every time he puts on a green shirt.
After being utilised in a much wider position since moving to Devon from Blackpool in the January of 2023, Wright has been occupying a much more central role when he has been on the pitch this season, with Rooney obviously seeing him as a more of a threat in the middle of the park.
With Whittaker and Ibrahim Cissoko currently occupying the spots out wide, Wright’s creativity has now been focused through the central channels, and although there are early teething issues, it could be a role that gets the best out of his game in the future.
At the moment, the playmaker continues to drift out to a wider position, and fails to capitalise on the space afforded to him in between the opposition defence and midfield - somewhere that Al Hajj drifted to instinctively.
With his new teammate likely to be rewarded with a place in the starting lineup before too long, Wright will find himself with a point to prove in the coming weeks, and will have to work on finding the pockets of space that can be exploited in attacking areas.
We have already seen the fighting spirit from the forward to return to the starting lineup for the final few matches of the previous campaign - having been bombed out by former boss Ian Foster - as he helped the Greens secure their Championship status for another season.