Plymouth Argyle: Wayne Rooney has Bali Mumba dilemma: View | OneFootball

The Pilgrims boss may struggle to fit the wide man into his plans for the season ahead

Highlights

It was just over a year ago that Bali Mumba became just the second player in Plymouth Argyle’s history that the club had spent £1 million on.

In fact, the former Norwich City man equalled the club-record fee paid for Morgan Whittaker just four days before he made the permanent move to Home Park last summer, after impressing on loan in the season before.

The wing-back was a revelation during the Greens’ 22/23 League One title-winning campaign, as he terrorised opposition defences with his sensational runs from the flanks, netting six times in his 41 appearances in the third tier.

But 12 months on from making his move to Devon permanent, new Argyle boss Wayne Rooney has a decision to make about the 22-year-old, and how he fits into his plans for the season ahead.

Wayne Rooney tactical tweak could have significant impact on Bali Mumba prospects

Since his arrival at Home Park earlier this summer, Rooney has made some changes to the Pilgrims’ setup, with the former Manchester United man seemingly favouring a backline of four defenders, rather than Argyle’s tried and tested five.

It was a similar story at the start of the previous campaign, as Steven Schumacher changed the system ahead of the Greens’ Championship campaign, only to revert back to type midway through the campaign.

Mumba was used further forward during the early throes of the 23/24 campaign, with the likes of Mickel Miller and Joe Edwards preferred in the defensive positions, and a year on, it looks like the ex-Sunderland man could be in a similar predicament.

The truth of the matter is that Mumba isn’t trusted defensively, with his lapses in concentration at the back too often providing the opposition with chances from the wide areas; something which can be afforded more within a back five.

But with one less defender alongside him, it would be a risk to have the wide man slotting into a defensive role, especially with the addition of Nathanael Ogbeta to fill that position.

Bali Mumba faces Ibrahim Cissoko, Morgan Whittaker competition for starting spot

That means that Rooney will more than likely utilise Mumba in a more offensive position in the season to come, as we have seen during the Greens’ pre-season outings in recent weeks.

The 22-year-old netted his side’s second in a 2-0 victory over Torquay United at Plainmoor at the weekend, as he converted a rebound after Callum Wright’s shot from distance had been parried out by the Gulls’ goalkeeper.

But whether the wide man gets a starting berth in this current Argyle side remains to be seen, with Morgan Whittaker unlikely to be ousted from the starting eleven anytime soon, unless the transfer speculation surrounding the former Swansea City man comes to fruition.

With the 19-goal marksman likely to take up the spot on the right side of attack if he does stay with the club, Mumba will have to compete for the spot on the left side of attack, where Toulouse loanee Ibrahim Cissoko has already impressed since joining from the French outfit.

The 21-year-old has looked like an absolute box of tricks during his early days as an Argyle player, and looks like an excellent addition to cause opponents all manner of problems down the flanks.

With hotshot Freddie Issaka adding to the competition for starting places at Home Park after a sensational pre-season campaign, finding room for Mumba is proving to be easier said than done for Rooney, with the Championship campaign edging ever closer.

The one positive will be that the competition is only likely to bring the best out of the wide man, with his place in the team under as much threat as it has ever been during his time in Devon, having featured in 84 matches during his two seasons in green.

With the trials and tribulations of a Championship campaign, there is no question that Mumba is going to play his part throughout the campaign, but as it stands, he could well find himself lower down the pecking order than he would like as the season begins.