Sheffield United blow may hurt Plymouth Argyle support more than Sheffield Wednesday drubbing: View | OneFootball

It's not been a good couple of days for Plymouth Argyle with the two Sheffield clubs

It's fair to say that it's been a tough couple of days to start the 2024/25 season for Plymouth Argyle - much to the delight of the two clubs from Sheffield.

Wayne Rooney's tenure as Plymouth Argyle boss couldn't have got off to a worse start as his side were defeated 4-0 by Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Sunday afternoon, and to make matters worse, goalkeeper Michael Cooper looks set to complete an initial £2 million move to Sheffield United, which could rise to £4 million in the future, according to PlymouthLive.

Any pre-season positivity to be found at Home Park has evaporated just a couple of days into the season, and the two clubs from the Steel City are to blame for that.

Rooney will have to rally his troops after a tough couple of days, and we're only one league game into the season, so it's not the end of the world, but it's certainly not an ideal start to the new campaign.

Sheffield United blow will hurt Plymouth Argyle more than Sheffield Wednesday defeat

As starts to the season go, a 4-0 defeat away to Wednesday was far from ideal, but as we all know, the Owls will be a much stronger proposition this season, and perhaps it's unfair to read too much into just one game with 45 left to play.

However, what will hurt Plymouth supporters more is the fact they look set to lose star goalkeeper Michael Cooper for a meagre £2million fee to a Championship rival, and they would have expected more than that.

It was reported a couple of days ago by Alan Nixon via his Patreon that the Pilgrims were holding out for a fee of £6 million for Cooper, so seeing him depart for a reported £2 million will hurt Argyle supporters, particularly when the season has already started, and they're running out of time to replace him.

Plymouth's supporters would have had full faith in the club holding out for the best possible fee, and £2 million seems like a bargain for Sheffield United.

Losing a key player for such a lowly fee will be a concern, and whilst Rooney may be able to turn around performances on the pitch, there's not much they can do about losing Cooper now.

It means that Rooney now just has one senior goalkeeper in the form of Conor Hazard, who started at Hillsborough, and it gives him a real headache with just over two weeks of the transfer window remaining.

£2 million for Michael Cooper is a steal for Sheffield United

The 24-year-old has proven himself to be an excellent player in recent seasons, helping the Pilgrims win promotion to the Championship in 2023, before keeping the club in the division on the final day of last season.

He's been one of Plymouth's standout players alongside Morgan Whittaker, and at 24, he's got over a decade's worth of football to come.

This makes it even more baffling why Plymouth are cashing in on him for £2million, despite only having a year left on his deal, and if all goes to plan at Sheffield United, Cooper could be worth a fortune and a huge asset for the Blades going forward.

Yes, Plymouth will now have £2million to spend on their squad, but that sort of money won't go very far at all, particularly if they're looking for quality options.

Chris Wilder and Sheffield United have played a blinder in signing Cooper for £2million, and they probably can't quite believe their luck.

Plymouth supporters are right to be angry after seeing Cooper depart for such a small fee, and this would have hurt more than their side being defeated 4-0 on Sunday.