Derby County and Millwall join Celtic in Plymouth Argyle transfer chase | OneFootball

Derby County and Millwall have joined a long list of club's in the hunt for Plymouth Argyle's Lorent Tolaj this summer

Plymouth Argyle's hopes of making the League One play-offs come down to the final day, after a miraculous resurrection of form under Tom Cleverley sees the Pilgrims within a real chance of breaking into the top six.

Coming into this campaign, there was a great deal of turnover at Plymouth.

First and foremost, Bosnian boss Miron Muslic departed unexpectedly for German side Schalke, leaving the Devon-based outfit scrambling for a replacement in the dugout, eventually landing on former Watford boss Tom Cleverley.

Following relegation from the Championship, the Pilgrims saw an array of departures, with most notably the likes of Maksym Talovierov joining Stoke City, Adam Randell leaving for Bristol City, and Ryan Hardie linking up with Wrexham, with a huge core of their squad being tempted away.

A poor start to the season saw Cleverley's role come under question, but the former Manchester United midfielder persevered, and now, they have a real chance of breaking into the play-offs against the odds.

This wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the goals from Swiss forward Lorent Tolaj, who joined the club from division rivals Port Vale in the summer for just £1.2 million after his release clause was triggered, but now Plymouth are set to face a battle to keep hold of their talisman in the coming months, with a couple of Championship clubs now registering a fresh interest in the 24-year-old.

Derby County and Millwall join a host of clubs in the race for Plymouth Argyle's Lorent Tolaj this summer

Swiss forward Lorent Tolaj has enjoyed another excellent season on a personal level, with 17 goals and seven assists in 32 league games this season, in what is his first year in the third tier.

Having come through the ranks at Brighton and Hove Albion, Tolaj made the move to the National League with Aldershot Town in the summer of 2023, where he scored 19 goals and grabbed 11 assists in his only season for the club, enticing Port Vale to lure him to North Staffordshire.

He'd hit a further 14 goals and eight assists for the Valiants in League Two last campaign on their way to promotion, and has continued to display his rich vein of form in front of goal in Devon this time around, leading to speculation of yet another move.

Belgian publication Voetbal Primeur previously reported that the likes of Anderlecht, Norwich City, Stoke City, and Swansea City were all tracking his situation ahead of the coming window, with Scottish giants Celtic also seeing links to the forward.

Alan Nixon, too, reported via his Patreon that each of Sheffield United, Preston North End, and Leicester City are also keen on the 24-year-old, with the battle for his services set to intensify.

Now, FootballInsider are reporting that both Derby County and Millwall have joined the race for Tolaj this summer, with interest in the Swiss forward continuing to ramp up.

Both clubs hold ambitions of playing Premier League football next season, with Millwall having the potential to secure automatic promotion on the final day of the campaign if results go their way, whilst Derby could secure a play-off place if results also go their way.

Despite this, both teams are looking to potentially bring Tolaj in over the coming months, and you would imagine, given their campaigns, they stand a stronger chance of luring him away than the aforementioned clubs.

Even if Plymouth manage to secure promotion, they will face a steep task of keeping the former Brighton forward around. Though crucially for them, they remain in the driving seat when it comes to negotiating a fee for him, as this saga is set to continue over the months.

Tom Cleverley will be looking to maximise any fee for Lorent Tolaj this summer amid Derby and Millwall interest

Fortunately for Plymouth, it was revealed by Cleverley previously that Tolaj's contract does not contain a release clause, and with his current terms not set to expire until the summer of 2029, they are in an incredibly strong position when it comes to demanding a fee for their star man.

Cleverley also revealed that it would take "a lot of money" to lure him away from Home Park, saying: "What is separating Tolly from a lot of people at this level is those moments. If you have got a player in your ranks that can turn a draw into a win, yeah, people will have to pay a lot of money for him.

"The ones who can finish like he does and make the real difference, and win you 15 points a season, are the ones that are gold dust."

Derby face their own battle to keep hold of USMNT striker Patrick Agyemang this summer, and see Tolaj as an ideal replacement should the 25-year-old depart.

Millwall are looking to revamp their attack in any instance, and Alex Neil would view Tolaj as a gamble worth taking, whether they are in the Premier League or not.

Tolaj's future is up in the air as things stand, but what is certain is that interest over the coming months will only increase.