Plymouth Argyle: Bali Mumba exit prediction made, Lorent Tolaj transfer worry raised | OneFootball

FLW's Plymouth Argyle fan pundit offers his say on Bali Mumba's potential future departure and Lorent Tolaj prediction

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Plymouth Argyle had a very busy summer transfer window when it comes to departures, with an array of notable names, such as Ryan Hardie, Rami Al Hajj, Mustapha Bundu and Makysm Talovierov, all leaving the club following the Pilgrims' relegation to League One at the end of last season.

With there not being too much to write home about in the way of arrivals, other than the £1.2m signing of Lorent Tolaj from Port Vale, supporters have been frustrated with the board which hasn't been helped by their below-par start to the season, as Argyle currently sit in 18th-place with seven games played, after being tipped as promotion candidates.

However, one man that the Pilgrims' faithful will be delighted to retain this season after a summer of transfer speculation is the 23-year-old Bali Mumba.

Mumba has become a fan's favourite with the Green Army due to his versatility. After excelling on loan during Argyle's League One title-winning campaign of 2022/23, he won the League One Young Player of the Season award after notching six goals and seven assists.

Despite goal contributions coming at more of a premium in recent times for the youngster, Mumba has remained one of the club's most consistent performers but could be expected to seek a January exit.

Bali Mumba's exit seems imminent next summer, if not in January

With Bali Mumba being a shining light in what has been a torrid past 12 months for the Pilgrims, it was a surprise that we didn't see an exit from Home Park this summer as the winger certainly falls into the 'too good for League One' category.

However, with clubs sure to be lurking around for his signature in January, Football League World's Plymouth Argyle fan pundit, Luke Hodge, believes that Mumba is one player that could well be on his way out in the near future.

"I think there's only about three players left in Argyle that actually didn't go in the summer. The only person that possibly might look to go elsewhere, although he does seem happy at the moment is Bali Mumba."

"I'm quite surprised he didn't go anywhere this summer. He hasn't had the best start to the season, however no one has. They've all been pretty poor. Stockport was a great result, so there was improvement there. Three games on the bounce we've won now and, to be honest, Bali's [Mumba] played quite well the last couple of games, and he looks quite happy, so he still might not want to go anywhere, but if there's one player that may go elsewhere, it could be Bali [Mumba]."

Plymouth Argyle's new signing Tolaj is another name that could well attract a lot of attention from Championship clubs in January or next summer as the Swiss striker introduced himself to the EFL last year in superb fashion with Port Vale. The 23-year-old scored 14 times and provided eight assists in 32 League Two appearances last season before making the long trip down south to join Plymouth.

Tolaj opened his account for his new club at the weekend in Argyle's 4-2 home win over Stockport and will look to kick on as the season gets into full-flow. FLW's Plymouth Argyle fan pundit, Luke, believes that his time in Green come be short-lived as his talents could be picked up from the higher leagues.

"The only other player that worries me a little bit, even though we only signed him a couple of weeks ago, is the lad Lorent Tolaj. Simply because he is getting better and better, and he seems to be a steal at £1.2m."

"He will go on to bigger and better things, it's just a question of when."

"January might come too soon. I think we may keep a hold of him until the end of the season, but I'm pretty sure that there will be several Championship teams keeping tabs on him already, and probably European clubs will start to be looking at him because, in my opinion, he's the real deal."