Plymouth Argyle would be 'daft' not to eye Spurs transfer raid | OneFootball

Football League World's Plymouth Argyle fan pundit has discussed electric Spurs loanee Oliver Irow and whether the winger could be signed permanently

Plymouth Argyle's strong start to the 2026/27 League One campaign has been boosted by the dazzling displays of Tottenham Hotspur loanee Oliver Irow, and his long-term future is already coming under the microscope.

The Pilgrims needed a fast introduction following last term's failure to reach the top-six and the subsequent departure of talisman Lorent Tolaj to Bristol City, though Tom Cleverley has orchestrated exactly that as his side occupy third-place ahead of tomorrow afternoon's meeting with Burton Albion at Home Park.

Plymouth have begun the campaign in eye-catching form, taking four victories from their opening seven League One games to establish their credentials as contenders for automatic promotion.

Central to that, of course, has been Irow, who arrived on loan from Spurs over the summer and has swiftly emerged as a star-turn for the Green Army with a series of scintillating showings from the left-hand side.

It's no surprise that Plymouth supporters are already dreaming of his permanent signing, but could that actually happen? Football League World's Argyle fan pundit has laid bare his thoughts...

Plymouth Argyle told to explore permanent Oliver Irow, Spurs transfer deal

Irow has been a revelation under Cleverley to date, with the talented winger quickly proving to be among the most devastating wingers in League One this season.

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Having returned a respectable tally of four strikes from 18 appearances on loan at third-tier rivals Mansfield Town during the second-half of the previous campaign - in which he was aged just 19 - Irow has now set about taking things to a new level since rocking up in Devon.

The Spurs academy product made an instant impression by finding the back of the net on his debut in a 4-2 EFL Cup second-round defeat to Premier League outfit Coventry City before opening his divisional account with a stunning curled effort from range just 20 seconds into Plymouth's 3-0 rout of Barnsley earlier this month.

Irow followed that up with two strikes either side of the interval to orchestrate his side's 4-2 victory at Blackpool last weekend, and, having already found the back of the net on four occasions from only six outings, the Green Army faithful are wondering if the 20-year-old's services could be snapped up on a full-time basis.

FLW asked our resident Argyle fan pundit, Luke Hodge, whether his club should be asking the question to Spurs about signing the winger permanently - and he believes it would be amiss not to do exactly that.

"I would hope that conversation was already being had behind the scenes, or that it's just about to be," Luke explained to FLW.

"You'd be daft not to at least ask the question after the start he's had.

"He's come in and he's looked like he belongs straight away, but we have to be realistic."

Plymouth Argyle sent Spurs, Oliver Irow transfer warning

Despite Luke's belief that Plymouth would be daft to ignore the possibility of at least exploring a potential permanent capture of Irow's signature, he remains balanced and realistic about the task at hand.

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Highlighting the multi-million-pound valuation Spurs would likely place on Irow's head, having done similar when selling on young talents to EFL destinations in recent years, he believes that Plymouth would struggle to meet such demands and may instead need to simply hope they can retain the talented attacker for the entirety of the current campaign.

"We've only watched him for half a dozen games, you know what Tottenham's answer is going to be," Luke continued.

"The valuation will be way out of our price range. His performances have been excellent, he's direct, he's confidence and he's already shown that he can produce moments that change games.

"He's just 20 years old, but with that quality already coming through, there will be a host of clubs above us in the Championship and playing across the European leagues asking Spurs the exact same question and they've all got far deeper pockets than we have.

"So, for me, I just hope he stays with us for the entire season. Let's enjoy him while he's here, if he keeps this level up then he can be a really influential part of what we're trying to do this year and a big piece of any promotion push.

"That's the bit that actually matters right now."

Championship clubs could eye Oliver Irow transfer hijack involving Spurs and Plymouth Argyle

Luke is right to raise the importance of securing Irow for the season's full duration, which represents a fear that could just rear its head and come to life in the approaching months ahead.

As he points out, that may need to be the question that Plymouth are asking about Irow as opposed to potentially trying to land the ex-Mansfield loan starlet permanently.

They wouldn't be wrong to ask that question, of course, but any deal would have to appear far-fetched at this moment in time and would be likely to only stand a real chance of being achieved in the event of promotion to the Championship.

Indeed, the outcome of Argyle's season could even be decided by where Irow's future lies following the turn of the year, as it would only feel natural for an increasing number of Championship clubs to become alerted to the winger's performances under Cleverley and try their hand at throwing him into the second-tier - a proposition which may well appeal to Spurs' desires of testing their talents at the highest level possible, too.