Plymouth Argyle & Tom Cleverley should target January deal for proven ex-Oxford United performer | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle should act quickly to try and sign former Oxford United defender Elliott Moore on a free transfer.

It has been a woeful start to the season for Plymouth Argyle, and it is expected to be a busy January transfer window. One man they should rush to sign before the winter market comes is former Oxford United captain Elliott Moore.

The Pilgrims, following their relegation from the Championship last season, endured a tumultuous and busy summer, which began with the controversial departure of manager Miron Muslic to German giants Schalke.

The appointment of former Watford boss Tom Cleverley hasn’t worked out and Plymouth find themselves quickly regressing and in a real fight for survival to avoid back-to-back relegations.

Argyle’s recruitment policy over the last few years has seen them able to bring in relatively unknown gems, but this summer has fallen flat, and their squad does appear devoid of both experience and quality.

One man that would certainly provide that, as well as some much-needed defensive resilience and nous, would be free agent Moore, who would actually represent a bit of a coup for most if not all League One clubs.

Plymouth Argyle should push to sign Elliott Moore

At the end of the summer transfer window, Oxford captain Elliott Moore departed the club via mutual consent, with reports suggesting he would link up with former U’s boss Des Buckingham at Al Kholood.

That deal has not come to fruition with Al Kholood having already filled their eight foreign player spots for the first-half of the Saudi Pro League season, with former Blackburn Rovers midfielder John Buckley among them.

Moore has remained a free agent since then but, at the age of only 28, would surely be viewed as more than good enough to get himself a deal in the third-tier at least sooner rather than later.

Moore, who came through the academy at Leicester City and had a two-year loan spell at the Foxes’ affiliate club Oud-Heverlee Leuven in Belgium during his formative years as a professional footballer, joined Oxford in 2019.

He went on to make almost 250 appearances for the Yellows, captaining them to League One promotion via the play-offs in 2024 and then making 26 appearances for the U’s as they staved off the drop last season, even making a couple of appearances in the Championship at the start of this campaign.

The former England youth international is more of an old-school defender in terms of putting his body in the line and his head where he may get hurt but, having played at Oxford for so long, he also has a deserved reputation for his ability on the ball, too.

In the 2023/24 League One promotion-winning campaign, according to FotMob, Moore completed the second most passes per game (53.1) for Oxford, only behind Josh McEachran (55.1), with McEachran playing over 2,500 fewer minutes than Moore.

Yet, when tasked with playing for a struggling side at a higher level and with a more defensive-focused style under Gary Rowett, Moore was Oxford's most prolific player in terms of clearances (7.3 per game) and most blocks per game (1.0), again, according to FotMob.

Plymouth are in desperate need of any real depth at the back, but certainly someone with the experience and quality of Moore.

Plymouth Argyle desperately need a defender like Elliott Moore

Having been in the Championship less than six months ago, it is quite remarkable that Plymouth sit rock-bottom in League One with just four victories in their opening 15 games of the season.

The biggest issue for the Pilgrims throughout the campaign has been a lack of defensive solidity, with no team having conceded more than the 28 that they have let in. That isn't even a real outlier, either, with their expected goals against being 24.6; with only Rotherham United with a worse record in that regard.

In terms of clearances, despite being immensely under the cosh quite often, Plymouth are middle of the road with 33.9 per game as a team, whilst being in the bottom-half of the table for their pass success rate per match.

Given that Moore proved himself to be an effective out-and-out defender in the Championship, in terms of his anticipation and grit with clearances and blocks, but also the focal point for passing and building up from the back in the third-tier, Plymouth would massively benefit from someone like Moore bringing his presence to the back-line.

The defence is where improvement is most required, with plenty of departures over the summer hampering them, such as Maksym Talovierov and Victor Palsson, as well as the end of Nikola Katic’s loan move from FC Zurich.

Cleverley appears to remain insistent on playing the back three system at Home Park, but there is a desperate need to be more resilient and resolute at the back. That goes in tow with playing a passing style and so, again, Moore would appear to fit, aside from the defensive side of the game.

Moore would bring that in abundance, as well as his leadership qualities, whilst still being more than capable of playing out from the back if required.