Plymouth Argyle reaped the rewards of shock Exeter City raid | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle will hope Caleb Watts can repeat the rewards of Joel Grant's shock move from Exeter City.

Plymouth Argyle were rewarded when they made a shock move for Exeter City's Joel Grant, and will hope that 2025 summer signing Caleb Watts can follow suit.

Swapping the red and white stripes for the green and white or vice versa is a move that very few players have been brave enough to pull off in their career, but those who do are often well remembered in Devon derby folklore, fondly by one side, and not so highly-regarded by the other.

One man often stands out when you think of the few who moved from one Devon side to another, and that man is Joel Grant, who excelled with Exeter, before turning down a new deal to join up with fierce rivals Plymouth.

This story has once again come into the limelight almost a decade later, as a similar situation unfolded over the summer when another winger, Caleb Watts, also turned down a contract from the Grecians to sign for the Pilgrims.

Given how Grant's time at Home Park went, the Green Army will hope that they've repeated the trick they pulled on their local rivals in 2017, by snapping up one of Exeter's best players on a free.

Joel Grant thrived with Exeter City before making shock Plymouth Argyle move

Grant's name is a real blast from the past, as the winger had gained plenty of EFL experience before his arrival in Devon in 2015, with the likes of Crewe Alexandra, Wycombe Wanderers, and Yeovil Town.

The Jamaican was signed by Exeter in the summer of 2015 as a fan-funded player, following his release by the Glovers, and would go on to be a hugely important player at St James Park over the next two seasons.

He went on to make 49 appearances in the league for the Grecians, scoring nine goals and assisting five, helping his side reach the League Two play-off final in 2017, where they were narrowly defeated by Blackpool.

After missing out on promotion and excelling in the play-offs, it was clear Grant was keen to make the step-up to League One, and he would, turning down a new deal at Exeter to instead sign for their bitter rivals Plymouth.

Manager Derek Adams had just guided the Pilgrims up to the third tier, and identified Grant as a shrewd addition, who could bring goals from wide areas, which is exactly what he would do.

In the Jamaican's first season at Home Park, he scored six league goals in 33 outings, as Argyle secured an excellent seventh place finish in their first season back in League One for six years.

Unfortunately, the following season wasn't as strong, as Grant's game time was limited to just 17 league appearances. Although he did manage to chip in with a respectable four goals and one assist, it wasn't enough to keep Plymouth in the division, or save Adams' job.

The Pilgrims would bounce back the following year, as Ryan Lowe guided them to automatic promotion, with Grant playing just over half of their league matches, scoring four goals and assisting three, before being released that summer.

By the time he departed the club, the wide man had racked up 85 appearances in all competitions, scoring 15 goals and chipping in with four assists, along with a promotion medal from League Two in 2020.

It would be fair to say the Greens got their worth out of the raid of their local rivals, and almost a decade later, we are seeing a similar situation unfold with a current Argyle star.

Plymouth Argyle will hope Caleb Watts will serve as a repeat of Joel Grant raid

One of the most eye-catching moves in the EFL in the summer was Watts turning down a new deal with Exeter to instead put pen to paper on a three-year deal with their County rivals.

Watts started the season well, scoring on debut and looking a real livewire for Tom Cleverley's side in the wide areas. However, his great start was brought to an abrupt end after suffering a hamstring injury against Luton Town, leaving him sidelined for months.

Despite this, the summer signing will be eager to push on after his injury setback, and if he shows the form he did before that injury, there's every chance he could become one of Argyle's most integral players.

Almost a decade after the last player made the switch from red to green, you can certainly draw some similarities between the two players with how their transfers unfolded, and whether Watts can have a similar or better impact than Grant did.

Obviously, both turned down new deals at Exeter to sign for the Pilgrims, which stung in one camp and delighted in the other, and we saw Grant back up his decision by putting in some strong performances at the level above.

Whilst Watts hasn't made a step-up divisionally, going into an Argyle team which had just been relegated from the Championship with huge expectation would've been a daunting task, but the winger took to it like a duck to water before his injury.

Despite his setback, Watts is certainly on track to follow in Grant's footsteps of being a successful signing from their local rivals, and has a much higher ceiling than the Jamaican, given he was signed at 24 years old, whereas Grant was 29 when he joined.

With that in mind, Plymouth will be hoping that they've hit the jackpot once again at the expense of their biggest rivals, and Watts will go on to become an even more memorable signing than what Grant was.