Plymouth Argyle transfer prediction issued on £1.5m man - His time is "well and truly up" at Home Park | OneFootball

Michael Baidoo was one of several high-profile departures at Home Park following relegation

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…

It has been an extremely mixed bag of results for Tom Cleverley in the opening two months of his reign at Plymouth Argyle, with many expecting more to come from his side as the season progresses.

Argyle had been tipped to mount a play-off bid in League One - as a minimum requirement - by many following their relegation in May after spending the prior two campaigns in the Championship.

At the time of their return to the second tier, the Devon club were, unarguably, one of the most progressive across English football's four professional leagues, having risen from League Two to the aforementioned division in the space of just three years under Ryan Lowe and Steven Schumacher.

Yet, following the departure of the latter to Stoke City in December 2023, the pendulum has very much swung the other way, with the Green Army crying out for consistency in terms of the management and playing squad, with plenty of players entering then making swift exits away from Home Park.

One of those is Ghanaian attacking midfielder Michael Baidoo, who joined Argyle for a club-record £1.5m in January from Elfsborg, before joining Qatar Stars League outfit, Umm-Salal on loan in June.

Clearly, the 26-year-old remains somewhat of an enigma to many in this part of the world, including Football League World's Plymouth fan pundit, Luke Hodge, who believes there is no way back for Baidoo despite his potential to fit into Cleverley's 3-4-2-1 system.

Plymouth Argyle backed on Michael Baidoo transfer call despite Tom Cleverley tactic

In their most recent outing against Wigan, Cleverley continued to utilise the aforementioned formation, which saw Tegan Finn and Owen Oseni playing in behind fellow summer recruit and star performer, Lorent Tolaj.

Despite racking up impressive numbers for Elfsborg, the fact Baidoo was unable to translate such form into the Championship following his significant transfer outlay, perhaps due to the fact he'd had a busy season in Sweden that went beyond November 2024 due to their involvement in European football, as well as his lack of application for the Greens, Hodge believes Argyle have made the right decision despite his steady start to life in the Middle East with one goal and as many assists in four appearances.

"It was 100 percent the right move to let Baidoo go out on loan," Luke told FLW.

"From the minute he arrived at Argyle, he just didn't settle for whatever reason.

"It just wasn't to be, and it became glaringly obvious last season that he wanted out and to try his luck elsewhere.

"I think it was the right move for all concerned at the club," Hodge claimed.

"Although he fits in perfectly into his formation with two '10's', Cleverley stated at the end of last season, with a mass exodus of players leaving Argyle after relegation, that he wanted to replace them with players who wanted to be here.

"He wanted a close-knit group with lots of travelling this season. He didn't need someone that was going to upset the group.

"Not that Baidoo's a bad influence, but he didn't want to be here. It would have been wrong to force him to stay, irrespective of his potential performances at the club.

"I don't think you'll see him in an Argyle shirt again," Hodge predicted.

"I think his time at Argyle is well and truly up, and he'll see out his contract and move elsewhere.

"Good luck to him, it just didn't work out at Argyle."

Tom Cleverley needs a settled Plymouth Argyle squad after inconsistent start

As Hodge alluded to, Baidoo could have the potential to feature strongly in Cleverley's tactics, but his individual desire to feature elsewhere has immediately quashed such possibilities.

The new Argyle boss needs to have a settled squad too, after several big-name departures and an inconsistent start to the season, with it being vital that momentum is built in the coming weeks and months as the League One table begins to take shape.

The Greens are currently just six points off the top-six, such is the congested nature of the division at this stage, although they are currently the worst-performing club out of the newly-relegated trio alongside Cardiff City and Luton Town.

Baidoo is under contract at Home Park until 2028. Therefore, if his form continues to grow stronger in Qatar, there is every chance that Plymouth may recoup a significant amount of their club-record outlay for his services, even if they are unable to break even or make a profit on his services.