Plymouth Argyle should plot move to sign Chesterfield star – Lorent Tolaj would love him | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle should try and move for Chesterfield man Armando Dobra to provide support for summer signing Lorent Tolaj.

It has been a really poor start to the season for Plymouth Argyle thus far but it can yet be salvaged, with the key to that likely being another busy transfer window in the winter, both in terms of incomings and outgoings.

As the Pilgrims seek to immediately stave off the ignominy of back-to-back relegations from the Championship to League Two, before kicking on back up the League One table, one player that they should be lining up to try and sign in January is Chesterfield attacking midfielder Armando Dobra.

Following their relegation from the second-tier last season and then the subsequently controversial departure of manager Miron Muslic to Schalke, Plymouth embarked upon an extremely busy summer window which included the appointment of Tom Cleverley.

The former Watford manager is now under growing pressure as a recent 3-1 defeat to similarly disgruntled Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium left them sitting rock-bottom and on a four-match losing streak.

There are a lot of areas of the squad that require improvement and one man that could help solve their issues of being more cohesive in the final third would be Dobra.

Plymouth Argyle should line up a move for Chesterfield star Armando Dobra

24-year-old Redbridge-born Armando Dobra came through the academy at Ipswich Town and made 30 appearances for the Tractor Boys before a permanent move to then-National League outfit Chesterfield in the summer of 2022.

It was a coup for the Spireites at the time, and the former Colchester United loanee almost immediately shone for Chesterfield before forming a key part of the Paul Cook-managed team that romped their way to the National League title in the 2023/24 campaign, hitting double figures for goals in 43 National League appearances.

Last season, as Chesterfield finished seventh and reached the League Two play-offs in their first season back in the EFL, Dobra remained a key man as he scored nine goals and provided two assists before being a crucial absentee due to injury for the run-in and subsequent play-off semi-final defeat to Walsall.

At the start of this season, Dobra again shone with three goals in his first five appearances of the campaign, grabbing attention as Chesterfield looked to emerge as title contenders in League Two.

Capable of playing both out-wide and in the so-called ‘number ten’ position, Dobra appears to have the ideal profile to fit into a 3-4-2-1 system for what the Plymouth squad is seemingly built for.

Injuries and a lack of consistency in the positions for the two behind the striker have been frustrating for Plymouth, who have lacked adequate support for big-money summer signing Lorent Tolaj up-front.

A former Albania youth international, Dobra would seemingly be the ideal man to try and provide for Tolaj in the final third, allowing Plymouth to be a team more than capable of scoring their way out of trouble.

Occupying the minds of other defenders whilst also providing a deft technical touch in behind Tolaj would allow the former Port Vale man to thrive, whilst also providing Plymouth with a much higher floor than what they are currently seeing elsewhere in their attack.

Chesterfield may seek to cash in on Armando Dobra

That start to the season for Dobra did bring headlines and catch attention, and even led to reports suggesting that Championship clubs Derby County, Oxford United and Portsmouth, as well as League One giants such as Barnsley, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Reading were interested in his services before the close of the summer transfer window.

Since those reports and as the season has gone on, Dobra’s productivity and effectiveness has lessened in what has been a frustratingly inconsistent couple of months for Chesterfield.

The line that could be drawn, or at least speculated on, would therefore be that Dobra has potentially had his head turned on and that has led to a dip in his performance level.

That may well lead Chesterfield to the conclusion that it could be best for them to cash in on Dobra, without that being much of a comment on his ability as a player.

If such a decision was to be reached at Chesterfield, then it would be a fantastic opportunity for Plymouth to position themselves to bring him in to Home Park and allow him the regular minutes at a higher level that he would surely crave.

Plymouth have key areas of weakness to address and providing support to Tolaj is a big one, and Dobra should be the man that they identify to solve that problem.