Why Swansea City & Ollie Cooper can hand Plymouth Argyle late transfer boost | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle should solve their midfield issues by signing Swansea City's Ollie Cooper.

Plymouth Argyle will likely be looking to add another midfielder to their ranks before Monday's deadline, and one candidate to fill that void could be Ollie Cooper of Swansea City.

The Pilgrims and the Swans faced off in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, with the Welsh side defeating their Devonian opponents on penalties, after the two sides couldn't be separated in 90 minutes.

One man who was on the bench for Swansea against Argyle was Cooper, who has become somewhat surplus to requirements for Alan Sheehan's side in recent weeks.

With first-team opportunities proving hard to come by in South Wales, Sheehan hinted that the 25-year-old could be allowed to depart the Swansea.com Stadium before the end of the transfer window, in search of regular minutes.

With that in mind, Plymouth should look to pounce quickly and bring Cooper to Home Park, which would provide head coach Tom Cleverley with another excellent option in the middle of the park.

Ollie Cooper: The story so far

Born in Derby but hailing from Wales, Cooper has spent his entire career at Swansea, rising through the youth ranks after signing in 2011, and going on to make his senior debut in the 2020/21 season, making five appearances across all competitions.

Regular minutes were hard to come by for the Welshman though in the early stages of his senior career, which saw him sent on loan to Newport County in League Two, where he caught the eye of his parent club.

When he returned to the Swans, the progression of Cooper from his loan was evident, as he went on to play a crucial role for his boyhood club in the 2022/23 season, which earned him his first international cap for Wales.

However, game time and form would be inconsistent over the next couple of years, and a foot injury saw him miss a large portion of last season, which saw him fall slightly down the pecking order with new boss Sheehan.

Fast-forward to the present day, the midfielder is seemingly likely to struggle for minutes after a busy transfer window for the Welsh club, and Sheehan admitted to the BBC that Cooper could move on this summer.

With over 100 appearances at Championship level at the relatively young age of 25, whoever signs the Swansea academy graduate should he leave will be securing themselves a very tidy player indeed.

Now the nightmare of trying to find a new striker is over for Cleverley, following last week's acquisition of Port Vale star Lorent Tolaj, it's likely the former Watford boss will be looking to add just one or two more bodies to help fill out his squad.

Cleverley admitted to the BBC that his Plymouth side are now prioritising a move for a midfielder before the window shuts on Monday, and whilst he didn't get to see him in action on Tuesday night, a move for Cooper could be a wise decision for Argyle.

Firstly, the 25-year-old can play across a range of positions in the engine room, and is well-versed as either a number ten, or a box-to-box midfielder who can also sit deeper, bringing Cleverley some more versatility to his midfield unit.

Cooper would bring a whole new dimension to the middle of the park for Plymouth, with his excellent work rate in a pressing system, intelligent movement on and off the ball, and ability to control the tempo of play, which will be a real asset in League One.

The Welshman comes with a great pedigree as well, having over 100 appearances at Championship level, and also boasting four senior caps for Wales. At just 25, he also still has plenty of room to grow, and is yet to hit the peak of his career.

Considering Cooper's situation at Swansea and Argyle's need for a midfielder, the Greens should look to take advantage of this and bring the 25-year-old to Home Park as their closing statement in an already manic transfer window.